Beads for Prayer

Something exciting happened yesterday that I want to tell you about.

I pray … and meditate. At least I try. Lately my prayer life has been rather up and down. Some evenings, my prayers feel… connected. Some mornings, usually when I go into church sanctuary, I feel prayerful. But a lot of times, not so much. Same with meditation. I focus on my breath, out and in, as I practice being present in the moment, out and in… then I come to and realize I was thinking about anything but being available for God as Spirit.

Still, I keep at it. Do you remember that definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results?

A few years ago, I heard about praying with beads, and thought, "This might be neat; maybe I should make some." But I didn’t. Last year, I found a necklace at a consignment shop. While I’d never wear it as jewelry, I liked the beads. And the idea of prayer beads returned.

All five of the world’s major religions use something small and hard to rub in their fingers as they meditate or pray.

• Buddhists use a 108-bead mala to recite mantras – 108 is the number of afflictions they believe a person must overcome in life.
• The Hindu mala also has 108 beads – they use that number believing there are 108 names for Brahma, the creator. 
• Jewish people don’t use beads, but their prayer shawls (tallith) have fringe on the corners, each with 8 strands having 5 knots (tzitzit). They move between the knots as they pray. With 613 commandments in the Torah (First five books of the Christian bible), plus the Hebrew letters for the word tzitzit adding up to 600, plus the 5 knots and 8 strands, you have 613.
• The Muslims subha has 99 beads - to represent their 99 names for Allah. (Many subhas only have 33 beads, but they just go ‘round 3 times.
• And, of course, Catholics use the rosary. In early Christian history, the religious prayed the Psalms every day. Most laity were illiterate, but someone suggested that they could say the Lord’s Prayer 150 times (for the 150 psalms). But if you’re really praying it’s easy to lose track, so someone thought of a strand of beads. Eventually, the practice changed, so that now, Catholics use the 10 small beads to say an Ave Maria, and the larger beads to say the Lord’s Prayer. And, most rosaries now have 5 sets of 10 beads (and they, too, go around 3 times).[1]

After the Reformation some leaders steered Protestants away from praying with beads, so we didn’t… for generations. Then, in the 1980s, Protestant prayer beads started showing up and, thanks to a group of Episcopals, praying with beads began to be more accepted.

I’d read some of this history when I first heard about the Protestant beads. Still, I'm indebted to Kristen Vincent, for her research and stories.

But, back to my experience yesterday, The beads had been gathering dust on my dresser until I moved them to the sauna. Maybe they'd get used there. (I bought a sauna this fall because I was tired of my perennially cold feet keeping me awake at night, or of having to soak in an overly-chlorinated bath to warm up before bed. I hear taking a sauna is good for you, but I can't say yet. Still, I’m sleeping better.)

My evening sauna time is usually spent in meditation and prayer, but as I said, my efforts haven't felt fruitful lately. Except… last night, I picked up the beads, closed my eyes, and prayed, fully present until the beeper sounded twenty-five minutes later. Wow!

I didn’t follow any special pattern. I just prayed, holding and feeling first one bead then another, moving slowly from one part of my prayer into the next. I had a concern I wanted to include in my time of prayer, but other than that, no plan. 

And it worked! Maybe it’s partly the physical, tactile aspect. I don’t know. 

There are other ways people focus their prayer or meditation. I’ve tried some, but this was a new experience for me, one I’ll be trying again.

[1] Kristen E. Vincent,