The Laughing Wolf

A Thought On Prayer

Some discussions of late have involved prayer, that is the asking of higher power for something. Prayer is not a Christian thing, but something as close to universal as it may be possible to find in matters religious and spiritual. The historical record is clear that prayers have been offered up from the earliest days.

Such supplications were often aimed at a specific goal: good harvest, the end of winter, the return of spring, death and destruction to enemies, or even for a child of a specific gender. Sometimes, prayer was done with meditation, long periods of penance, or even some form of flagellation or scourging. Often, some form of sacrifice was offered to add weight to the prayer, be it the killing of an animal or simply offering food or drink.

The subject of prayer is oft a touchy one, for there are different ways and there are also some who claim that prayer is only for them and theirs, and as such must be done only in their way. There are those who claim it must be done out loud, whilst others point to verses about closets.

As a child, I prayed for specific things. It may have been a pony, it may have been something else I wanted. Sometimes that want was for a specific person to be made well or otherwise restored to us so that I could spend time with them. As I grew older, there was a period of loss that resulted in my praying for the impossible, that those about whom I cared would be kept alive and unscathed. That I knew it to be impossible did not matter, for it was what I wanted.

That thought resonated later in a different way as I studied theology Christian and other. For I came across something that made me stop and think, in something away from the mainstream. It was a simple thing, a simple prayer, and it resonated strongly within me: Let that which is right, be.

Almost every religion and spiritual path lays claim to one (or more) who are omnipotent and/or all powerful. Such creates the heavens and the earth, guides or directs all that happens, and is wise beyond all understanding. Yet, it often appears that the earthly followers of such spend a large amount of time placing limits upon those beings despite admonitions not to do so.

While there are many examples, is not the foremost way that such is done is through selfish prayer?

Do we not, each time we pray for a specific thing or outcome, say to that higher power "I know better than you what is right and proper, so do it my way?" Are we not placing limits upon them? Are we not thinking of ourselves when we do so, and not about those for whom we pray?

Far too often, I believe, when we pray for something "good" to happen to another, that we are equating good with what we think is best for us. We pray for a miracle cure, so that we may have more time with that person, good times. We pray that someone find a job or otherwise come into a large sum of money so that they can stay where they are, again so that we retain their company or otherwise gain something out of such. At any point in such prayers, does one stop to ask if that is right for the other party? Are we denying them something better by demanding a specific outcome? If we keep them where they are, are we not keeping them from growth? Are we stopping to think that a sudden influx of money could harm them, or that another may have to be harmed for such to happen? Are we considering all the myriad possibilities, or just our own selfish desires?

This is a subject of long and intense theological debate, but for now this will do as some food for thought this Saturday.

And, yes, there are a number of reasons for the discussions of prayer of late via phone, e-mail, and in person. It has been an interesting couple of weeks for some of my friends, from matters job related to health. One who is friend and has a measure of my protection is dealing with a family health crisis. Late this week, I found out that one of my family has Stage IV adenocarcinoma of the lung that has metastasized.

The easy way, the selfish way, for me to go would be to pray for a specific outcome for each of these people. It would be to pray for a specific job, a miracle, or that various people not suffer. Yet to do so would, in my opinion, be in error.

As tempting as it would be to do so, I shall not. Instead, I will do that which is hard, and have the faith of my beliefs and trust.

Let that which is right for each be.

LW