Brian’s Reflection: Monday, January 30, 2012

Pray - period!
Don't expect anything. Or better, expect nothing.
Prayer cleanses us of expectations and allows
holy will, providence, and life itself an entry.
What could be more worth the effort - or the non-effort?

Thomas Moore


“Pray” means “Pay Attention”.

Of course, one could write a million books on Prayer. There are many aspects to It. Personally, I feel that the least “sound” aspect of Prayer is the “asking” part. One of my thoughts is that there is no point in “asking” God for anything, for the simple reason that God knows what we need, and presumably will not give us anything that would be detrimental to our wellbeing. I think that assuming this ought to lie at the basic understanding of prayer. When I find myself “asking for something”, I know that I have lost a grip on the foundational nature of God. There may be one reason to “ask”: to remind ourselves of the true nature of God.

I like the way Moore links together “holy will, providence, and life itself”. Jesus prayed that “we all may be One” with God. That desire lies, I think. at the very core of “Prayer”. It’s like the Buddhist Shakras: our being requires constant “clearing” so that Life can flow through us unimpeded. It’s the same goal as repentance: unblocking what holds us in thrall and opening us to a clear relationship with the Divine.

Another things Moore points out is that Prayer is essentially about Listening. Not about talking. God presumably knows what is in our hearts and minds – we say this all the time when we speak of the Divine. “God knows the very hairs on our head.”

Health and Wholeness (i.e., “Salvation”) derives from there being a clear path from us to God. Our work of Prayer is to “make straight a highway for our God”.

Brian+