prayer

“The function of prayer is not to influence God,

but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”

                                                            Søren Kierkegaard

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When you pray, pray this way….

I have always struggled a bit with what we call prayer

Oh, I know the Lord’s prayer

Its nice, and it makes sense

Focus on God

Ask for the basics of Life

Ask to be forgiven, and for the capacity to forgive others,

And remember, well, that God is God

And I do pray
I have my own unique style

It is mostly a matter of muttering under my breath

As I go through my day

Things like

“help”

“oops”

“I’m sorry”

And of course, “thank you”

But sometimes one wonders

Does God listen?

Does God hear?

I am reminded of the journalist who lived in Jerusalem,

Close to what is known as the wailing wall

He would watch the people come and go from that sacred place,

And he could not help but notice one elderly man who came to the wall every day

One day he approached the man and said to him, “I cannot help but notice

That you come to the wall every day”  The man replied, yes, I have been coming to the wall every day for over 30 years.  And every day I pray to Yahweh, I pray for peace”

“What” responded the correspondent, “is it like to do that?”  “It is like talking to wall”, the old man replied.

What comes from prayer

I would have to say that the main benefit of prayer

Is the same benefit we get when we talk, really talk, with anyone

Connection

A sense of knowing and being known

A sense of loving, and being loved

As to outcomes?

Well, I think Kierkegaard was probably right

If we want to see what happens when we prayer,

We need not look to the world

Or to others

We simply need to look inside ourselves

What is happening in my heart, my soul

What has changed in the way I see other people

In the way I feel

In my relationship to adversity, or even success?

For the function of prayer is, perhaps above all else

A plea that God will work Sacred miracles of love

Inside us

And the hope of prayer, is that this inner work

Changes, in a profound way

Everything else

Even if it doesn’t