Quaker Worship and Prayer
Quakerism began in the 1650s, and is one of the religious movements which emerged from the ferment of the civil war. From the beginning, Quakers emphasised the importance of personal experience of God, and expressed the conviction that a direct and unmediated experience of the spirit is available to everyone. To a certain extent, Quakerism was formed by a reaction against what early Friends perceived as the empty forms of worship in other churches, which continued the outward observances of religion without the spirit which gave them meaning. The Quaker response was to strip away the outward forms of worship, establishing the simple format of the Meeting for Worship.
Quakers have no separate priesthood, no outward sacraments, and also no concept of sanctified space. Although Quakers established Meeting Houses in which they could gather, a Quaker Meeting for Worship can take place anywhere, and many Quaker Meetings today do not have a Meeting House of their own, but may meet in a community building, or in someone’s home. The meeting room is usually set up with the chairs or benches all facing in to the centre. There is no sense of a hierarchy, and this format also reflects the idea that God is in the midst of the worshippers.
Quakers in Britain today continue the tradition of silent worship established by the early Friends. Friends gather in silence, prepared simply to be open to the presence of God. Silence itself is not sacred, but it can be a space in which we can listen to the ‘still small voice’ within; silence can become the medium for an encounter which takes us beyond words. The Meeting for Worship usually lasts an hour. It may be completely silent, or there may be some spoken ministry from those present. In a Quaker Meeting, there is no prepared sermon or speech, but anyone who feels led to speak may do so, perhaps offering a prayer, reading from the Bible or other writings, or sharing an experience or insight. The prompting to speak arises within the Meeting itself and often, without knowing it, the person who speaks may be addressing a concern or giving the support needed by another present.
Silent worship has some simliarities with forms of meditation designed to still the mind in order to reach a different state of consciousness. However, silent worship is not a form of individual meditation. The Meeting for Worship is a communal experience. Quakers talk of being ‘gathered’ in silence, expressing the idea that in worship we are joined with one another as well as with God.
Alongside the emphasis on the personal experience of God, Quakers also stress the importance of testing that experience. We are encouraged to respond to the ‘promptings of love and truth in our hearts’, but we must also learn to distinguish between these promptings and the multitude of other promptings we may experience. In Meeting for Worship, as we open ourselves to God and to one another, we open ourselves to receiving new insights which may confirm or challenge what we thought we knew.
The Meeting for Worship is not set apart from the rest of our lives. The inspiration we receive during Meeting encourages us to try to be of service in the world. We are also encouraged to try to carry the inner stillness and awareness of God which we can find in Meeting for Worship into our daily lives. There is no set form of personal prayer in Quakerism. At times, I find it helpful to ‘pray’ in the traditional sense of offering words to God. But to me prayer is also about listening - ‘taking heed to the promptings of love and truth’. Quakers talk about ‘holding in the light’ which is our way of talking about giving prayerful consideration to a situation. It can describe opening oneself to God with a particular concern or question in mind, trusting that clarity or guidance may arise through quiet contemplation. We also talk about holding in the light those who are ill or otherwise in need, trusting that they are in God’s hands, and directing loving energy and concern towards them. There is also an expectation that prayer may change the one who is praying - prayer is not an end in itself but may lead us to action.
Perhaps prayer could be described more as an attitude of mind than a form of words. The 20th century Quaker teacher Thomas Kelly wrote of the ‘life of prayer’, by which he meant the attempt to maintain a constant inner awareness of the divine, an inner orientation which aims to make every moment of living an act of worship. This may be a goal which we touch only occasionally. The mind wanders, other concerns and worries get in the way. Quaker silence does not always achieve the depth of a gathered meeting for worship. Sometimes, the silence feels empty or lifeless. Nevertheless, through a continual renewal of effort, of turning back to that inner place of awareness, there can be moments - however fleeting - when we succeed, and we can find a source of strength which carries us forward.
