Do Quakers Pray?, by Jennifer Kavanagh

Author: Jennifer Kavanagh. Review by Annique Seddon

Many of us already know and value Jennifer Kavanagh’s first book in the Quaker Quicks series, Practical Mystics, in which she explores the spiritually-attuned faith-in-action of Quaker experience. Her latest addition to the series helps us to think through, with wonder, the multifaceted nature of prayer as experienced by Quakers.

Jennifer draws on prayer patterns and practices from many faith traditions. This deepens the reader’s understanding of the call to pray, while unfolding the essence of prayer as experienced by Quakers. The book draws upon the wisdom of authors Jennifer has read, and also from people with whom she has shared profound conversations about the nature of prayer. It collects widely, and draws together the wisdom – and the uncertainties – of any one definition of prayer.

One of the delights is when Jennifer gives voice to those people to whom she has put the book’s titular question. We become part of the conversation, and the journey. One of the last chapters, ‘Life as Prayer’, asks ‘If prayer is not defined by tradition, form or specific practices what is it?… not a divided life in which there are times for prayer and times for other activities, but a way of life that is embedded in prayer, in which all stems from, is rooted in, prayer.’

Quakers may be unsure about their own answer, but here we are led, practically and spiritually, ‘to pray as we can, not as we can’t’, as the Benedictine monk John Chapman had it.

Jennifer writes in calm, lucid prose, which prompts a fruitful exploration of one’s own prayer life. Her voice speaks to us as if she were accompanying our discoveries: ‘The word “worship” is used by Quakers as if we all know what it means. I’m quite clear that I don’t… I might say that it’s a mixture of prayer, adoration, upholding, learning and, very occasionally, religious ecstasy. And, gloriously, it is never the same twice.’

Readers share her excitement as she discovers wise and spiritual writers. These include the Catholic-turned-Hindu Abhishiktananda (‘God dwells only where man steps back to give him room’); the Benedictine David Steindl-Rast (‘Wherever there is love there is only prayer’) and our own Janet Scott (‘Prayer; where we are meant to be; what we are meant to do; and how to find the strength to do it’).

Suddenly, we realise that we are drawn to deep moments that, in the past, we have not named as a call to prayer. We recognise, too, that we can accept the timeless pauses in our everyday lives as an opportunity for a profound sense of connection beyond ourselves – a time of love and renewal.

This is a text to share with others in small-group work as well as for personal exploration. There are a series of prompts in the final pages for this exercise. The guide to spiritual practices in the final pages helps us to ground our own way of seeking a life underpinned with prayer.

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