One of the blogs I regularly read is Richard Beck’s “Experimental Theology,”

A few days ago he posted on “Prayer Beads” and since I have not mentioned that prayer form here, I thought it would be a good time to both point you to Becks’ post and share a few thoughts.

You can find his post at –

http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2012/10/prayer-beads.html

Years ago when I was first exposed to the Rosary/Prayer Beads I did not understand it.  Over the intervening years I have come to understand a little more about the this prayer form (Rosaries, the Anglican Rosary, and prayer ropes).  I remember seeing a book about these prayer forms entitled Praying by Hand.  That helped me see prayer beads and prayer ropes as a means of involving more than my words, speech and mind in prayer.  Just maybe this could open a door to involving not only my hands but more fully my body and perhaps thereby prayer can reach deeper and deeper into my full being.  Just a thought.

Let me share here a few sentences for Beck,

“I’m not very good at praying. But I’ve gotten a lot of help from structured prayer, particularly the words of The Book of Common Prayer. But another way to structure prayer is the use of prayer beads….  The basic structure of Anglican prayer beads … has seven small beads in between four larger beads.  There are no set prayers for this prayer bead….. I enter the beads with the Gloria (“Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”). I then say seven Jesus Prayers on the little beads and say an Our Father on the large beads.  And that’s how I walk the neighborhood at night with my dog.”

Want to go for a walk and spend some time in prayer?  Prayer beads optional.