Pray It Your Way (continued) So What?! What do all these generalizations about people have to do with prayer? We know that statements about preferences are generalizations, not rules. However, personality preferences are helpful tools for thinking about differences among people, and they offer clues for us in how to help ourselves and others find ways of praying that fit with who we are. Here are some suggestions to get you started thinking about how we can guide others into a life of prayer that helps them be more attentive to God. Extravert Extraverts need interaction, so prayer groups, studying and discussing books about prayer, prayer covenants/ prayer partners, participation in prayer vigils, prayer networks (via web or phone) can work well for them. Since 75% of the population prefers extraversion, groups should be an important part of helping most people learn to pray. Extraverts who are also sensate may find that walking or running with a prayer partner and talking about a Bible passage is a perfect fit with their natural inclinations. What other ways can you think of to offer extraverts ways to experience prayer through interaction with others? Introvert Spiritual reading, silent retreats, shared silence in groups after Scripture is read, and one-to-one spiritual direction are natural avenues for introverts to follow in exploring prayer and spiritual growth. About 25% of the population prefers introversion. People with this preference need only one or two close friends and spiritual companions; interaction with many drains them of energy. How can you help people with this preference enter more deeply into prayer? Sensate Because sensate people need to interact with their environment, prayer walking and other activities that involve moving can help them open to God's presence. They often profit from making a simple personal altar in the home, using scented candles/incense to symbolize God's presence, lighting a candle to begin/end prayer times, listening to meditative music, and singing Scripture songs. Writing in a journal and keeping a prayer list may also help sensate types attend to praying as an activity rather than "just" an idea. About 75% of the population has the sensate preference, which explains why many find the discipline of sitting still in silence to pray difficult to sustain. How can you help people experience the reality and power of prayer through the 5 senses? Intuitive Meditation of all types can be fruitful for intuitives. Sensate intuitive types respond well to guided meditation; they are able to envision what the guide suggests and to insert themselves imaginatively into Scripture stories, experiencing the sights, sounds, and aromas suggested by the leader. Meditation on an image, a word from Scripture, or a single attribute of God works well for intuitives. The image of a mystic (intuitive) alone (introversion) in silent ecstasy before God is a classic image of deep prayer. But since only about 12% of the population prefers introversion and is also intuitive, nine out of ten people will not find this classic image a natural fit — which is why developing and offering other models is important. Thinking People with this preference want to know about the theory of prayer — how to do it, why we do it, and what Scripture has to say about it. Studying the Meyers-Briggs typology and applying it to personal prayer comes naturally to me because I am a thinking type. The prayer life of thinking types will benefit from reading and study groups, keeping a journal to reflect on their experience, and exploring new ways of praying if they understand how it grows out of tradition and what benefits it offers. Thinking types need help in moving from theory into heartfelt practice. Integrating prayer with worship can offer ways to help thinking types experience prayer. What can you offer people with this preference? Feeling Those of the feeling preference find intercessory prayer a natural outgrowth of their concern for others. Feeling types who are extraverts often find participation in prayer groups a nourishing and empowering part of their prayer life. They may need help in finding consistency in their prayer life rather than praying only when they feel like it. Regular participation in accountability groups or study groups can help those with the feeling preference find stability. Prayer is basically relationship with God, and feeling types can experience deep connection with God in prayer. They can offer testimonies of this reality that move others. Judging Judging types tend to find structure appealing, so having a regular time and place for prayer feels natural for them. They are the ones who can pray every day, at the same time, in the same place — or feel desperately guilty because they don't. Judging types can inspire others by their dedication and steadiness, but their love for pattern can become legalism. How can you help them risk trying new patterns of praying that can move them into new experiences of God&339;s grace and presence? Perceiving Perceiving types are natural explorers and adventurers. They readily add on new ideas and practices, so they offer others an example of openness and can become leaders in their readiness to try new ways of praying. Perceiving types need help in settling on a practice that sustains them and becomes their base for exploration. These people are the least likely to be present in a structured prayer group; but when they do participate, they bring spontaneity and a sense of the immediacy of God. Offering options can be a way of keeping perceiving types involved. In what other ways can you guide these explorers in listening to God? I am not an expert in personality, but the concept of preferences has given me a tool to use in evaluating how I design group sessions. Reflecting on prayer practices for personality preferences can be a way of learning and coming up with ideas for personal and communal growth. At the beginning of the spiritual journey, people usually find that praying in ways that fit their natural preferences is easiest to sustain. As relationship with God matures, we may find that we experience the presence of God as we try new forms of prayer. Pushing beyond our comfort zone can open us to God in remarkable ways and propel us to new depths of understanding of the power of prayer and of the depth of God's desire to commune with us. To learn more about Myers Briggs theory, here is a user-friendly book with a self-assessment — Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types by David Keirsey & Marilyn Bates (Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis, 1984) Available from your local bookstore or from http://www.amazon.com or http://www.bn.com   Mary Lou Redding is managing editor of The Upper Room devotional guide. You may reach her at mredding@upperroom.org.   The Bookshelf

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