Prayer?
Earlier today I was listening to the rebroadcast of the December 17, 2015 podcast of the conversation between Martin Sheen the actor and social activist and Krista Tippett the host of On Being. Towards the end of the interview, Mr. Sheen asks Ms. Tippett:
“Do you ask people, in your interviews, if they pray or how they pray or what they pray or what does prayer mean to them.”
I have often thought about the term prayer which is usually defined as begging or entreating or giving thanks to some divine being or presence. Most of us often find ourselves in situations – public meetings, funerals, wedding, visiting in a hospital or others – in which we might be invited or even asked to pray.
Frequently I am in a setting involving a 12-step recovery program and invited to join in saying the serenity prayer or occasionally, The Lord’s prayer. Since I come out of a Christian background and framework I have no qualms about repeating either of these prayers. I do not feel a need to come to some agreement on what is meant by the term God or higher being. I am also comfortable if I find myself asked to join in prayer in a Jewish Temple or during a Muslim call to prayer. I am well aware that everyone present in any of these situations has their own set of beliefs about what is meant by the word God. Many people that I know do not have any positive association with this term. Some consider themselves atheists and, thus, cannot related to the term God or prayers.
I am perfectly comfortable using the term God, but do not necessarily associate it with a divine being. I do, however associate it with a presence. This presence is something which is more than me but includes me.
Prayer for me is an attempt to connect with a universal presence. If I had to draw this connection I would have a plug connected to a wire coming out of my quiet center which I plug into a master circuit board. When plugged in I am connected to all the loving energy of the universe. Since it is an interactional circuit this energy can then be directed towards those who are in any sort of pain or discomfort, to those facing danger or those beginning a new chapter in their lives.
There have been many scientific studies validating the fact that the energy of a healing team, including a surgery team, affects the outcome of what that team is doing. We all know that we become stressed around negative energy.
Another drawing of prayer I might make is one of a quiet, open embrace. When I quiet my mind, and open myself to the positive energy and wisdom of the universe I am shutting down the chatter which judges, has answers, can be critical, small minded, and just plain noisy.
The other day I was attending a funeral service. The officiant happened to be a Catholic priest. My experience of his prayers, beyond whatever words he might have used, was this open embrace. In those moments of prayers this rather tall, broad shouldered man was both gathering those present into his embrace and allowing all the rest of us to gather him in our embrace.
One might ask, “Is prayer the correct term for what I am describing as my experience and my vision. I have no idea. Certainty it is not begging or entreating. It is simply allowing myself to be connected to the larger whole and, thus, to receive and share the universal energy. That energy in my mind is pure love. It is unconditional and unearned. It is quiet and as soothing as the lullaby of a parent to an infant.
In the New Testament part of the Bible used by the Christian tradition in Luke, chapter 11, the disciples ask their teacher, Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Jesus then gifts them with a simple prayer which says:
Well, here we are, help us to be present to a sacred space.
To feed upon the love of the universe
Forgive us all the roadblocks we put up to separate ourselves from what is sacred and true within and without.
Just as we forgive those parts of us – others – who also put
roadblocks.
When I understand the prayer to be this I know that prayer is shutting down the chatter and opening myself to love
Without the chatter, it seems to me that in the words recorded in I Corinthians chapter 13:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Written June 24, 2017
Earlier today I was listening to the rebroadcast of the December 17, 2015 podcast of the conversation between Martin Sheen the actor and social activist and Krista Tippett the host of On Being. Towards the end of the interview, Mr. Sheen asks Ms. Tippett:
“Do you ask people, in your interviews, if they pray or how they pray or what they pray or what does prayer mean to them.”
I have often thought about the term prayer which is usually defined as begging or entreating or giving thanks to some divine being or presence. Most of us often find ourselves in situations – public meetings, funerals, wedding, visiting in a hospital or others – in which we might be invited or even asked to pray.
Frequently I am in a setting involving a 12-step recovery program and invited to join in saying the serenity prayer or occasionally, The Lord’s prayer. Since I come out of a Christian background and framework I have no qualms about repeating either of these prayers. I do not feel a need to come to some agreement on what is meant by the term God or higher being. I am also comfortable if I find myself asked to join in prayer in a Jewish Temple or during a Muslim call to prayer. I am well aware that everyone present in any of these situations has their own set of beliefs about what is meant by the word God. Many people that I know do not have any positive association with this term. Some consider themselves atheists and, thus, cannot related to the term God or prayers.
I am perfectly comfortable using the term God, but do not necessarily associate it with a divine being. I do, however associate it with a presence. This presence is something which is more than me but includes me.
Prayer for me is an attempt to connect with a universal presence. If I had to draw this connection I would have a plug connected to a wire coming out of my quiet center which I plug into a master circuit board. When plugged in I am connected to all the loving energy of the universe. Since it is an interactional circuit this energy can then be directed towards those who are in any sort of pain or discomfort, to those facing danger or those beginning a new chapter in their lives.
There have been many scientific studies validating the fact that the energy of a healing team, including a surgery team, affects the outcome of what that team is doing. We all know that we become stressed around negative energy.
Another drawing of prayer I might make is one of a quiet, open embrace. When I quiet my mind, and open myself to the positive energy and wisdom of the universe I am shutting down the chatter which judges, has answers, can be critical, small minded, and just plain noisy.
The other day I was attending a funeral service. The officiant happened to be a Catholic priest. My experience of his prayers, beyond whatever words he might have used, was this open embrace. In those moments of prayers this rather tall, broad shouldered man was both gathering those present into his embrace and allowing all the rest of us to gather him in our embrace.
One might ask, “Is prayer the correct term for what I am describing as my experience and my vision. I have no idea. Certainty it is not begging or entreating. It is simply allowing myself to be connected to the larger whole and, thus, to receive and share the universal energy. That energy in my mind is pure love. It is unconditional and unearned. It is quiet and as soothing as the lullaby of a parent to an infant.
In the New Testament part of the Bible used by the Christian tradition in Luke, chapter 11, the disciples ask their teacher, Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Jesus then gifts them with a simple prayer which says:
Well, here we are, help us to be present to a sacred space.
To feed upon the love of the universe
Forgive us all the roadblocks we put up to separate ourselves from what is sacred and true within and without.
Just as we forgive those parts of us – others – who also put
roadblocks.
When I understand the prayer to be this I know that prayer is shutting down the chatter and opening myself to love
Without the chatter, it seems to me that in the words recorded in I Corinthians chapter 13:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Written June 24, 2017
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