The first priority in Archbishop Mark’s Apostolic Priorities for the Archdiocese of Brisbane, documented in With Lamps Ablaze, is Teaching Prayer. He says, “Often we urge people to pray but don’t really teach them how to pray… Now is the time to teach ways of prayer which are mature and all-embracing. Christian prayer begins not with speaking but with listening; and learning to pray is therefore learning to listen – to listen even to the silences of God. If all we do is speak, then in the words of Jesus we “babble like the pagans” (Matt 6:7). But if we speak after listening and in response to God who always has the first word, then we speak according to the mind of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we need to teach and learn. In the Gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus called the twelve apostles to himself, first of all, “that they might be with him” (3:14). This is where the mission starts: being with Jesus, which is what prayer is.”

Join us for our new weekly series, Let’s Pray, where we invite you to pray along with us. Each week we will invite you to pray a new prayer with us – maybe you don’t know what to pray, or want to pray along with someone, or want to practice your faith through prayer. Our Let’s Pray series is for everyone.

Charlotte from the Children and Families team at Evangelisation Brisbane highlights the importance of community support and checking in on one another. RUOKDay reminds us to ask those around us if they’re okay and to listen with care. We invite you to pray this meditative prayer to enhance your ability to listen attentively and be present for others. Let us come together and pray for those who are struggling silently and seeking help.

• Let's Pray - A Guided Meditative Prayer Transcript

  Let's Pray - A Guided Meditative Prayer Transcript

  Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane

  Hi, my name is Charlotte, and I am part of the Children and Families team at Evangelisation Brisbane. It’s important as community to support each other and to check in. RUOK reminds us to ask our friends, family, colleagues and people in our communities if they are okay. And most importantly it reminds us to listen inventively to their answer just as God calls us to. I invite you to join in this meditative prayer today to help open our ears to listen and to quieten our minds so we can be present to others. Let us pray for all those that are not okay but struggle to say that out loud and seek the help that they need.

  In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

  I invite you to close your eyes.
  Take a moment to stop, to breathe, to simply be.
  Focus on your breathing. Breathe in for four,
  breathe out for four.
  Breathe in.
  Breathe out.
  Continue this pattern of breathing.
  Breathing in for four, and out for four.
  Feel your body settling, your mind settling and your heart opening.
  Open your ears to your surroundings, simply listen.
  What can you hear?
  What can you smell?
  What can you feel?
  As you continue to breathe let us focus on the words from the Gospel of John.
  I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
  Take a moment to reflect on the words you have heard.
  Was there a particular word or phrase that stood out for you?
  Did a person or group of people come to mind as you heard these words?
  How are you going to support that group or that person?

  Lord, we ask you to be with us today and with all those who are not okay and struggle to say it out loud. Fill them with your unconditional love so that they may know they are seen, loved and heard. Give us the courage to check in with those in our communities more regularly, to have hearts open to presence and ears ready to listen. To love one another just as You love us. We ask this prayer through Jesus our friend, Amen.

  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.