Why is prayer so important?

In a 2004 sermon celebrating the 300th Anniversary of Queen Anne's Bounty Archbishop Rowan Williams dealt very directly with matters of funding parish ministry and the need for new models of doing this. He also referred to the testimony of a bishop colleague who in many years of making his confession and receiving spiritual direction revealed that he had never once been asked about his personal finance or his use of money. An important and powerful part of his life had been left out of the sphere of spiritual maturity.

Funding parish ministry and the spiritual maturity of individual Christians are closely linked. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians to encourage them to rekindle enthusiasm for the Jerusalem offering he used the Macedonian church as a model. What Paul values in Macedonia is that despite poverty and persecution there is a joyful generosity that is born from an experience of the grace of God - a spirituality that affects our use of, and attitudes to material possessions.

• Prayer matters to us because money is a spiritual issue and our use of it is crucial to our spiritual growth. It is no accident that Jesus talked about money matters more than he ever did about prayer or faith. This is because how we handle our money has a direct bearing on how we grow in our faith.
• Prayer matters to our churches because financial needs cannot be and should not be excluded from the issues of ministry and mission or treated as 'secular concerns'. One of the legacies of an effective, prayerful Giving in Grace programme in a church is a change in the culture and tone of money talk in the church.

Giving in Grace stresses the priority of prayer. See the discussion paper Why Prayer Matters for more information on the importance of prayer and reflection on the liturgical resources available on the web site.