Anglican Prayer Beads

Enriching Your Prayer Life through Contemplative Prayer

“Be still and know that I am God,” the Lord tells us. Oh, how I long to follow that directive, but how? Ironically, at a time when we have more conveniences and technological advances than ever, we also have more demands on our time than ever. Do I even know how to be still? Does anyone? Growing up an evangelical protestant, I had a full understanding of  prayer, and I have always gained much peace from my prayer life. But it’s always been  me, talking to God conversationally, as I would to a friend. Is that kind of prayer, called discursive, really being still? God tells us to meditate on his goodness and the psalmist writes, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing unto you, O God.”

The very act of meditation implies stillness. The dictionary says that it’s “engaging in devout religious contemplation (thought) or quiescent (humble, submitted) spiritual introspection.” Unfortunately, however, in our day the word “meditation” has become so closely associated with the New Age practice of transcendental meditation (a dangerous practice that goes against “taking every thought captive to Christ”), that Christians go to great lengths to avoid any semblance of meditation. But without stillness, quietness in our spirit, how do we hear the voice of the Lord?

In an effort to answer that question and to deepen my own Christian walk by enriching my prayer time, I came across the concept of contemplative prayer. Nothing new to the liturgical community, during contemplative prayer you focus attention on God.  It is a conscious act of stilling yourself, quieting racing thoughts and focusing so that you know and recognize the presence of God, the Holy Spirit. You come to the throne of God and see Jesus with your spiritual eyes. You stay quiet before the Lord and wait expectantly, longingly for Him. (As opposed to talking non-stop and telling Him what you need, as in discursive prayer.) Contemplate his goodness, park your thoughts on his holiness and all that it means. Take time to think on, meditate on, scriptures or the names of God, perhaps. And listen for his voice.

As I began to research contemplative prayer, I found websites about using Anglican, or Christian, prayer beads to focus contemplative prayer. The concept arose out of a contemplative prayer group in the 1980s led by Rev. Lynn Bauman from the Episcopal church. Unlike the Catholic rosary, which has certain Marian and other formulaic prayers associated with it, the Anglican prayer beads are intended to be used in whatever way the owner wishes, with the purpose being to center yourself on the Lord. It’s a proven fact that the mind stays more attentive when the hands are engaged in the same task as the brain. Therefore, the beads are simply a tool — a way to deepen your prayer life by engaging not only the mind, but the body, in prayer. Saying your prayers keeps your mind focused and passing the beads through your fingers keeps the body busy during prayer. And when you have certain scriptures, prayers, or prayer requests associated with various beads, you are more likely to stay on track in your prayer time, rather than letting your mind flit from topic to topic like a hummingbird browsing garden flowers.

Obviously, there are no supernatural powers to Anglican prayer beads, but there is certain symbolism associated with its form. The number of beads totals 33, one for each year of Christ’s life. The cross that dangles at the end of the strand, of course, represents his sacrifice. Above the cross there is an invitatory bead, an invitation to prayer. There are four groups of seven beads called weeks. Seven is the holy number of completeness, as in the seven Spirits of God and the seven gold lamp stands in Revelation. Also, there are seven days in creation (and in a week) and seven seasons and sacraments in the liturgical chruch. Then there are four cruciform beads (dividing the weeks beads) to remind us that the redemptive work performed at Calvary invades every area of our lives.

Drawn to the idea, and after much researching and scriptural diligence, I made a set of Anglican prayer beads for myself. I have found using them in my daily devotions to be a beautiful, meaningful exercise that calms and controls my wandering mind as I pray. I also use it as a memory aid for learning scriptures and prayers. For example, currently, when I hold the cross at the bottom of my strand, I say the Breastplate of St Patrick, because it is so beautiful and rich with meaning, and I’m trying to memorize it. Then I move to the invitatory bead and use it to remind me to confess my sins before I go to the throne. At each cruciform bead, I say the scripture I am memorizing and incorporating into my life, currently Psalm 34:4.  At each of the weeks bead, I say the line of a seven stanza poetic prayer I’ve been learning. Other people use the beads in completely different ways.

Those who are new to the idea of contemplative prayer, and especially protestants, may be hesitant at first to try this ancient form of prayer. I was. We’ve been warned to stay away from meditation and not to pray repetitious prayers as the heathen do. (Does anyone know for sure what the heathens were doing back then that was repetitious or are we shooting in the dark?) But Jesus said, “When you pray, pray like this: Our Father, who art in Heaven….”  Of course that is a template prayer, an example, but we all say the Our Father without hesitation, regardless of denomination. And the Word tells us that “the fervent, effective prayer of a righteous man avails much.” How much more fervent could a prayer be than Jabez’ now-famous lines that so many repeat as part of their daily prayers:

“Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory. That Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.”  I Chronicles 4:9-10

Bruce Wilkinson’s little book on using this prayer sold nine million copies during the first two years it was on the shelf. Many of the major evangelical figures, including James Dobson and Billy Graham, both stalwarts of the Christian evangelical community, have given it a thumbs-up.

So, why the negative reaction by many protestants to contemplative prayer? The more I looked into this, the more I thought about the scriptures. David meditated on God. John the Revelator was meditating on God in the Spirit when he was caught up to Heaven (again in the Spirit) to see all that would become the Book of Revelation. We are a busy people, but God wants to give us rest so He can reveal himself to us and refresh us. If you don’t believe it, consider Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leads me by still waters. He makes me lie down in green pastures.”  That’s resting. That’s being quiet. And when we are quiet, we can hear God speak to us. In I Kings 19:11-13, God commanded Elijah to go up on a mountain and wait for God’s voice. A whirlwind came by, but God was not in it. He wasn’t in the earthquake that came, either, nor in the firestorm which followed.  But when he came, it was in a gentle whisper. When we are caught up in our frenetic lives, our minds are loud, shouting at us that we are late, behind, must go faster, must do more — how could we ever hear such a still, small voice as the whisper of the Holy Spirit?

The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:18 to pray with all kinds of prayer. With psalms and hymns, with our minds and with our spirits (I Corintians 14:15). Prayers of supplication and prayers of thanksgiving. Prayers that are conversational and prayers that are contemplative? Why should we Christians let our old adversary the devil, the father of the New Age (which is really the Old Age, just the same old lie told in the Garden, “You will be like God!”), steal what God originally intended for His people? Contemplative prayer does not mean emptying the mind, it means focusing the mind…on God.

[Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:30