As is typical of anyone who suspects or believes there is something bigger to life, the transcendent, if you will, I...um, pray. Regularly. No, I do not necessarily mean the studious type of Christian prayer ritual many of us were taught as children: kneeling before bedtime, hands clasped together, head bowed, asking God (okay, pleading) for a new fire truck or to keep the boogeyman at bay. Neither am I referring to those tired, meaningless, repetitive prayers said before meals. You know the ones: ”Lord, please bless this food we are about to eat and let us humbly offer you thanks for this day. Amen." Oh, and let us not overlook the traditional prayers muddled through during church services, the ones which closer resemble medieval chants (more on these some other time). With the exception of really wanting this, that, or the other, we often do not expend much effort into prayer.
So, what does prayer really consist of? Have we ever given this consideration...beyond our wants? The Bible mentions the word ”pray” somewhere around three hundred sixteen times, throughout both testaments. The New World Dictionary to the New American Bible defines prayer as:
In Scripture prayer envelops the whole range
of human attitudes and aspirations towards
God and his wonderful works. There is
petition, thanksgiving, narration and praise,
astonishment, distress, contrition,
adoration, and meditation.
As will be no surprise, I am rather unpredictable when praying. More often than not on a whim. Furthermore, I do not maintain a sequence. If I feel like saying something to God, I simply strike up a dialog. Admittedly, this is a one-way conversation. For instance, I could be walking along and out of the blue be touched by the beauty of a tree; thus, being inspired to offer up gratitude for connecting me to nature. Or, I could recognize a glow in the face of a passerby and feel compelled to make an acknowledgment to God. Of course, I have my erratic moments of asking God: "What were you thinking?" And, yes, I do petition for selfish wishes from time to time.
Hey, it was Jesus who said: "I tell you, you can pray for anything .... ” (Mark New Living Translation ·- NLT). Believe me, that statement has been put to the test, pulling on the heavens from one extreme to the other. Woowee!
In Matthew 7:7 (NLT), Jesus added further clarification: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for." I do ask. And, ask. Though, I try not to be a pest. Is that even possible? I sometimes wonder if God was too busy to hear my litanies the first dozen times, so I appeal yet again. Though, according to Psalm 6:9 (NLT), such repetitions may be in vain: ”The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.” When? And, here’s the rub: ”l prayed to the Lord, and he answered me" (Psalm 34:4 NLT). I have sent so many petitions up to God that I do not know if any of them have been heard, or taken seriously. In some respects it is possible that very few of my prayers have been received.
Check out the hiccup in Mark (NLT) where Jesus set forth some parameters for prayer: "But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” Wow, where did that little morsel come from? Don’t know about you, but I have at times failed miserably in this area. However, as stated earlier, there have been same strange anomalies on my spiritual walk as of late. Several of my prayers have come to fruition. But, and this is where my mind begins to play tricks on me, is this fruit indeed divine blessings from God, or mere coincidence?
I presented the above query during an ecumenical Christian fellowship gathering and received several stern responses. Some of the facial distortions read: "How dare you even question such good tidings...don’t you know that every single action is at the behest of God!" There were others whose expressions could not be interpreted for they buried their grimaces out of shame of even knowing me. The rest were merely frozen like deer in headlights, their eyes clouded over and blank.
What do you think, was God indeed answering my prayers? Or, was it coincidence? Do you encounter similar questions on your spiritual journey?
January 2011
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