Flexibility / Rigidity
It is necessary here to distinguish between rigidity and consistency. Consistency in prayer means a faithfulness to one’s practice of prayer, a commitment to prayer that endures throughout life. Rigidity refers more to an inability to allow change within one’s prayer life, a refusal to adopt different forms of prayer or to pray differently according to the particular situation. Consistency, as commitment to prayer, is a necessary component of the prayer life. Rigidity, on the other hand, is an attitude best removed from the lives of those who pray.
The opposite to this rigidity is flexibility, i.e. the ability to adapt one’s prayer form and prayer time to changing situations and personal circumstances. When one is ill, it can be necessary to change one’s practice of prayer. To attempt to continue rigidly with practices which we perform in normal times can lead to frustration and guilt and do damage to our spiritual journey rather than promote it. A rigid approach to prayer makes it less natural, and makes it more difficult to be integrated into one’s life.
by Bishop David Walker