PRAYER

What does it mean to pray?

Is it a spiritual encounter with God, our Higher Power, or the Universe?

Is it a request?

Is it an expression of gratitude?

How do we know when our prayer is answered?

Must the answer come as a request fulfilled, or can the answer be: “Later.”?

Is prayer our faith commitment to whatever answer we receive?

Thomas Merton’s characterization of prayer as a component of the interior life gives us important insight about connecting prayer with faith:

“What is the use of praying if at the very moment of prayer, we have so little confidence in God that we are busy planning our own kind of answer to our prayer?”

Prayer seeks intercession, and intercession is common in our secular lives. We say “Help me accomplish this goal” as we delegate to others toward a common goal. We ask “I need your assistance.” or “Tell me how you handled this.”

Prayer is just like that. But the less we reach out to God, the less active our prayer life seems. A deeper knowledge of God is our goal in silence and solitude. Even in a few moments alone, we can get strength through prayer. It can be a request, or an expression of gratitude, or even an acknowledgement of the beauty that surrounds us. It is a peaceful practice in itself. Mindfulness is its essence, as we focus our minds and hearts fully.

In the beautiful lyrics to “The Prayer,” we hear supplication for intercession in every step of our lives:

I pray you’ll be our eyes and watch us where we go,

And help us to be wise in times when we don’t know.

Let this be our prayer as we go our way…

Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace to a place where we’ll be safe.

I pray we’ll find your light and hold it in our hearts,

When stars go out each night, remind us where you are.

Let this be our prayer when shadows fill our day…

Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace, give us faith so we’ll be safe.

We ask that life be kind and watch us from above.

We hope each soul will find another soul to love.

Let this be our prayer just like every child

Needs to find a place, guide us with your grace, give us faith so we’ll be safe.

-The Prayer by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

https://youtu.be/Yu3o8W5JMuU?t=2

We pride ourselves on inner strength and self-reliance.  We seek to live our days in serenity and peace.  As we confront those people and events that shake us, we go inside ourselves to summon that strength and to perfect that self-reliance.  But how do we replenish?  What happens to us when our cup needs to be refilled?

Prayer can be our answer.  A moment of mindful prayer, asking intercession from our God, or Higher Power, or Universal Energy, reminds us that we can be self-reliant yet not alone.  It allows us to admit our powerlessness in the midst of a crisis which proves to be bigger than we could ever be alone. And a perfect prayer is ultimately an act of perfect unselfishness.  It moves us toward peace, and toward serenity.  And in doing so, it prepares us to give back to that Universe which fills us today, and will be there again to fill us tomorrow.

On a more personal level, I have a cousin whose prayer life is, in her words, “simple.” I believe her prayer life is the penultimate example of all Merton has written about trusting God. I believe it encompasses the three hallmarks of spiritual maturity to which I have earlier alluded: humility, gratitude, and compassion. I believe she exemplifies the faith in action which I personally seek to emulate every day of my life. Luckily, she has given me permission to quote her recent missive to me, and I present it to you as a gift. It is a love letter for each of us.

“My relationship with God is very simple. 

I love Him, He loves me.

I pray to Him, He listens to me. I talk to His Saints and Angels... they have done marvelous things for me. 

Love and gratitude rule my world. Every morning, I wake and thank God for opening my eyes to another day, and I choose to be happy. I visit the sick, I pray for the incarcerated, and I believe in always being kinder than necessary, because you never know what someone else might be going through.”

-Judi Keen

May these words guide you, as they will me, today and always.