Based on the four temperaments. When I first heard of the correlation between prayer styles and temperaments I was not interested, as, prayer is so personal. My thinking was that prayer was just talking to God, so there is not analyzing that. But of course there is. We can analyze people (and often discover their type) by how they talk. Also how we talk most comfortably to God says something of us. So after reading the different temperament types of prayer, I concede that our personality type affects what sort of prayer life appeals to us.
I did not expect Augustine for me but when i read it, it makes perfect sense. I guess I really didn't know about Augustine like I knew of St. Francis, who would have been my pick. Or the great St. Thomas Aquinas, but I must admit I do not approach thought with systematic logic like he. So I am Augustine, the one who prayed as a young man, "Lord, make me chaste, but not yet!"
Here is a link to where I got this info and below I will summarize. http://ift.tt/1RCBBI5
You can see below that these are four very different approaches and they really do coincide with the temperaments. You can see each Saint is "pre-Reformation", in case that matters to you. So these are saints for everyone. And Happy Holy Saturday. I call this "Serious Saturday". And blessed Easter to all. Everyone here is in my prayers. Here is a summary of prayer approaches:
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NT-Thomistic - St. Thomas Aquinas b.1225 A.D.
No surprise the NT's get this prayer-style of this great intellectual, great logical mind, St. Thomas Aquinas. The NT thinks through things logically, arriving at his understanding through logic. Like this:
You consider a virtue, a fault, a theological truth and "walk around it", studying it from every possible angle. To enable you to get the full grasp on the topic chosen for Thomistic Prayer, it is recommended that you use the seven auxiliary questions: WHAT, WHY, HOW, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, WITH WHAT HELPS and apply each of them to the topic selected.
By way of example, you might take the virtue of faith as the subject of your meditation. You would then ask the following questions:
What do we mean by faith?
What is entailed in the practice of faith?
What are the reasons to justify the pursuit of faith?
Why should I have faith?
What is the value of it?
How might I practice faith?
When and where should it be practiced?
Who are some of the people in the Scriptures and in history who are examples of the practice of faith?
Finally, what aids can I use to help me practice faith?
The whole exercise should conclude with suitable resolutions of how you are going to practice the virtue of faith.
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NF - Agustinian prayer (St. Augustine of Hippo, b.354 A.D. )
Remember that Augustinian Spirituality makes use of your imagination by transposing the words of the Scriptures and applies them to your situation today. This provides you with a personal reflection on the presence of God in his Word.
Luke's Gospel is of particular interest to the iNtuitive-Feeling personality type. Jesus' compassion for sinners... for women... and outcasts finds a responsive chord.
Of all the temperaments, the iNtuitive-Feeling personality needs more time in prayer and quiet meditation than any of the others. For the iNtuitive-Feeling personality such time is not a luxury but a necessity as far as personal development and relationship with God is concerned.
"What do these words of Scripture mean to me in my present situation?"
"What message is the Lord trying to convey to me in these ancient words of the Bible?"
By using their iNtuition in this transposition, the iNtuitive-Feeling personality makes the Bible relevant to current personal and community problems and needs. In order to practice the Prayer of Transposition, which we call Augustinian Prayer, the iNtuitive-Feeling personality needs to open him/herself to one's creative imagination. Usually good with words, both in speaking and writing, the iNtuitive-Feeling personality type finds journal keeping not a chore but a joy.
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SJ - Ignatian Prayer (St. Ignatius of Loyola, b.1491)
IMO, the picture above of St. Ignatius looks like an ISTj. Ignatius is the founder of the rule of order for monastic life. Most monasteries and convents have their rules connected to him. Also Ignatius if known for his retreats that bring us closer to our walk with God. He seems very good at creating order. I guess maybe that's an SJ thing? Here is Ignatian prayer style:
The Ignatian Method of prayer places oneself in the Biblical scene where you become a part of it by way of your imagination. Try to imagine what you might see... what you might hear... and what the persons in the scene might being doing. At each point in the contemplation, try to draw some practical fruit from the reflection for your own life today. What changes and challenges does your reflection on the event furnish?
The pattern is especially appealing to the Sensing-Judging personality and can be found reflected in the Epistle of James where a sense of duty is strongly presented. He insisted that Christianity should keep faithful to the ancient traditions of the Jews. We can also see this in the Gospel of Matthew, where the evangelist emphasizes how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament hope and the continuity we have with the past in the Hebrew Scriptures.
In your devotional reading of Scripture, you may find a passage in James' Epistle particularly helpful. Write down the reference in your Prayer Journal and look it up. Read it several times through and reflect on it. There may be several such passages that come to mind for you in the Gospel of Matthew. Write down those references and look them up during your prayer time. When the passage lends itself to an imaginative reflection, listen and discover what God is saying to you...
A deliberate, conscious effort has to be made to develop hope and trust and to look on the optimistic side of the Good News of the Gospel. Frequent meditation or reflection on the Resurrection of Jesus rather than constant recall of the Passion and Death is recommended to the Sensing-Judging personality.
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SP - Franciscan (St. Francis of Assisi b.1182 A.D.
Franciscan Spirituality is characterized by its application. It is very popular among ordinary people, those men and women of action who want and need to do things for others. Acts of loving service can be a most effective form of prayer. Franciscan Spirituality is very optimistic and sees the beauty, goodness, and love of God everywhere. When you consider that a Sensing-Perceiving person like Francis of Assisi makes contact with God primarily through their sense impressions … what we see, smell, touch, hear and taste … it would follow that since the Incarnation is the visible, audible, tangible presence of God upon earth, the Sensing-Perceiving personality could relate quite well to Jesus' life and teachings through the parables.
The Sensing-Perceiving personality type does not respond well to the symbolic but is primarily interested in the real and literal. Franciscan Prayer makes full use of the five senses and will be flexible and free-flowing. It is what is sometimes referred to as "spirit-filled prayer", totally open to the presence and voice of the Holy Spirit present in each one of us. Since Sensing-Perceiving persons can see God in the whole of creation, they are able to make a fruitful meditation on the beauty of a flower, a meadow, a lake, a waterfall, a mountain, the ocean, or any event in nature such as sunrises or sunsets, the changes of the seasons, Spring, Fall, a fresh snow in Winter.
Much of their prayer is called virtual prayer, or the prayer of good works. A prayerful Sensing-Perceiving person will find the thought of God predominates every waking moment.
The famous Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner," and other such prayers are readily used by Sensing-Perceiving persons and enable them to live constantly in the presence of God and see His hand in everything.
The Sensing-Perceiving persons dislike formal prayer and prefers a free-flowing informal communion with God.
Prayer styles for different temperaments - NT, NF, SJ, SP
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