Many of us with young children or young grandchildren, have
been present at a time when they were ill. We hate to see them suffer,
and sometimes we fear we could lose them. Sometimes in such moments it
occurs to us to pray for the child's recovery.
But those who pray only at such moments usually
experience great difficulty figuring out what they are supposed to say, or to
whom they are addressing it.
Many Americans are raised without any habits of personal
prayer, and cannot conceive of a God who would listen if they did address Him
in prayer. Not really understanding personal prayer, perhaps they will
intellectualize the idea of prayer to such an extent that they
"bleach-out" any emotional significance. After all, if God
already knows everything, what's the value of praying to God?
Rabbi Harold Kushner, the author of the best-selling "When
Bad Things Happen to Good People," says he is tired of prayers that
sound like a list of grievances. "We've confused God with Santa
Claus," Kushner charges. "Every time you have to do something
difficult and you are not sure you are up to it, that's cause for
prayer." Nevertheless, petitioning God for favors may be one of the oldest
---- and most human ---- forms of prayer.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is said to promise his
disciples that "Whatsoever you ask of the Father in my name will be given
to you." Most Americans who pray believe that at least some of their
prayers have been answered, though not always in the ways in which the
petitioners have sought.
Clearly. there is a difference between occasionally turning
to God for help and expecting Him to meet our every want. Jesus' own
prayer to the Father was "thy will be done," meaning that God wants
us to have whatever promotes our participation in His life. Yet,
it is precisely this distinction that is lost when television evangelists
regularly claim miraculous healing through the power of on-air prayer.
Indeed, there is every reason to believe that prayer requests sent to such
evangelists, checks enclosed, are posted to the wrong address.
Perhaps what matters most is not the frequency of personal
prayer, but whether those who pray experience inner peace, a feeling of being
led by God, or finding other forms of "divine intimacy."
Talking about God, which is what theologians do, is
not the same as learning to talk to God. There are many ways of
talking to God. Prayers learned in childhood or read from a book, are
often used to break the "conversational ice" with God. However,
perhaps this is the best advice: "shut up and listen."
I have also been told that personal prayer requires making
time for God on a regular basis. Someone once said, "If you're
not as close to God as you used to be, its because you moved, not
God."
Since no one has seen God, people who pray inevitably draw
on their own imagination and experiences when thinking about God.
However, it would seem that the internal representation of God through prayer
changes throughout one's life cycle, in response to other significant people
and events. For example, finding a loving spouse or holding a newborn
child. may alter an earlier, more distant representation of God.
So what's the lesson for those who want to draw closer to
God through personal prayer? Beware! The religious purpose of
prayer ---- communing with God ----can be lost when people use it only to
declare their list of wants. That is, if my conversation with God is merely
a Santa Claus list of things for me. The challenge seems to be
moving from trying to control God, to letting God direct us.
_______________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual
Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal spiritual growth this
summer.
_______________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment