The First Sunday in Lent of our book study with Max Vincent’s book, “Because of This I Rejoice,” begins with joyful prayer. I always think beginning any endeavor with prayer is a good idea, so I am happy that Vincent begins our Lenten journey in this way. I also appreciate that Vincent begins the chapter with the honest report of the difficulty of sustained prayer. The practice and discipline of prayer can be found in the group of things of life I would describe as “easy, yet not easy.” The practice of prayer is straightforwardly easy on the surface of things: you take a moment to reflect, to remember, to petition (ask), to consider the blessings (fortunate moments) of life, to give thanks, to ask for strength, etc. However, prayer is at the same time, frustratingly not easy: you are tired from a long day, has it really been a week since I last prayed and gave thanks, did I just eat my dinner without saying grace again, I wonder if other people really pray every day… Vincent honestly presents us with the challenge of prayer with his “young boy checklist” of things to be done before bed and their consequences: wash my face (if I don’t, my skin will break out and my mom will be upset with me), brush my teeth (if I don’t, cavities will certainly be my undoing and my dad will be upset with me), say my prayers (if I don’t…wait a minute, if I don’t, will anyone really know for sure, and God will forgive me…). Without any tangible consequences standing before us, our prayer lives can slip into untended, forgotten gardens of spiritual activity. So how do we fill our lives with joyful prayer?

Vincent begins his outline of a “life filled with joyful prayer” with the important idea of a Christ-centered life, in a section titled, “Seeing One Another in Christ.” The power of this perspective is that it moves the focus of our prayer from “praying for others” to the Christ-centered focus of “praying for those whom Christ loves.” Vincent describes the center of the Apostle Paul’s constant and joyful prayers for the Philippians by writing, “to whom the Philippians belong is more important than who they are. Paul’s joy arises from recognizing them ‘in Christ Jesus.'” This perspective toward prayer is consistent with the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s practice of giving a reverential bow toward those he encountered (when asked why he did this, Tutu replied, “I am acknowledging the Divine spirit that dwells in each child of God I meet.”). Vincent provides quite a bit of detail of the “shape of prayer” throughout the remainder of this chapter. While I agree that the shape of prayer might be important for some, I believe the true power of prayer comes from our connections to God and to others.

Vincent addresses this important aspect of prayer in his section, “Sharing the Gospel.” He begins this section with an important biblical word: fellowship. He quotes biblical scholar Fred Craddock, who seemingly dismisses the word fellowship as boring and antiquated. Fellowship indicates “nothing important is beyond the horizon and only forgettable conversations will be held,” according to Vincent’s report of Craddock’s thought. I couldn’t disagree more with Craddock – and I agree with Vincent’s presentation of Paul’s understanding: “Fellowship is not optional for Paul’s theology; it is not something in which we choose whether to participate. To be in Christ is to be connected to everyone who is in Christ.” I cannot overstate the importance of Paul’s understanding of fellowship as it informs and feeds the life of prayer. Without connection to the community, without the regular gathering of the “saints of God” who talk about their lives, their joys, their concerns, etc, the Body of Christ is diminished, and the ones in that community will also suffer from a diminished life of prayer. This is why fellowship is so much more important for a fruitful prayer life than is the shape of prayer. Fellowship is the food of prayer, shape is the structure and design of prayer – without food, prayer will suffer. I believe this is why it is so important for God’s children to gather as one, and one of the most significant reasons the exile of the recent pandemic has had disastrous impact on our Christian communities and our lives of prayer.

The chapter ends as all chapters of this study book end, with reflection questions about one’s prayer life. I believe these questions are helpful to our reflections and can lead us to greater understandings of our prayer lives, and help us to identify a few new practices that will broaden our disciplines for prayer. However, I would like to add some “fellowship reflections” to Vincent’s list of questions. Consider the following: How might you find new ways to encounter people in your community you have not had the opportunity to regularly have fellowship with? How might you discover some specific details of life in your community and include these discoveries in your life of prayer? How do imagine your prayer life could be changed if you gathered more regularly with your Christian community?

May you pray without ceasing, and may you find holy fellowship with the saints of God in your Christian community and beyond, because as this chapter has rightly taught us: “to whom the people of your prayers belong is more important than who they are…”