Funny isn’t it? How when it’s cold, we want it to be
hot, and when it’s hot, we wish it to be cooler.
Some have suggested this is how they sometimes feel
with their prayer habits: when life is going well,
it is easy not to pause and pray, and when life gets
hard, the first thing we do is pray.
Think of that last one. Maybe a part of your prayer
is to blame or to question God about the
difficulties we experience. That’s called lament.
It’s also honest to admit that because of the
hardships, we may sometimes choose not to pray.
Whatever our motivations (or lack thereof), God
welcomes prayer: whether it’s those we have written
in our journals or those we offer up quickly before
we pull off a Band-Aid, God finds us.
This is why—in spite of God’s availability and
hospitality—we must make time to pray. It is easy to
get lost in life’s busyness and the occasional storm
that accompanies this journey. Prayer brings us back
to the depths of our being, and perhaps by invoking
the name of Jesus in wonder and love, prayer returns
us to the place of our true (first) existence: God.
To rest in the presence of God has often been called
‘prayer of the heart’ or contemplative prayer.
Prayer of the heart may use few words or none, but
it requires faith and a willing, attentive heart.
Sometimes we don’t pray because we may not know how
to, or we wonder which practice is the right one.
Our worry makes us miss the purpose of prayer. After
all, prayer isn’t about doing something right so
that we might change God; rather, we pray so that we
may become of aware of God’s presence in our lives.
Prayer is meant to reorient our lives toward God,
and it reminds us of our need for ongoing
conversion, mercy, and love—all of which God freely
gives. The quality of each person’s life grows from
the prayer of the heart as a whole, and prayer
immeasurably nourishes one’s life in return.
To pray when only we find it convenient robs us of
God’s goodness in every moment of every day amidst
every season. When we begin to make time to pray—to
ponder what is before us now with trust, joy, and
loving attention—that’s when we become aware of the
divine in all aspects of life.
My understanding of prayer has evolved over the
years. What used to be a transactional practice as a
child—“God if you heal my cut, I promise to never
walk barefoot in the alley again”—has become one of
holy listening. And being.
The best example of a prayer of the heart I can
offer you from my life is one I experienced on this
94-degree day:
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I was shopping in a store who had their air
conditioner cranked up so high—I swear—I saw
snowflakes. The longer I wandered the aisles, the
colder I became… to the point that I started getting
goose bumps. Though my heart rate was up a bit after
the jaunt from the store to my truck, I was still
shivering when got to the door. As I opened it, it
was like I had stuck my head in my mom’s oven after
she cooked lasagna; a wave of heat smacked me in the
face. Getting in and settled in the seat, I grabbed
the steering wheel almost hot to the touch, and a
strange thing happened….
Suddenly, a profound sense of peace overcame me.
I imagine that’s what it’s like when babies wake in
the middle of the night, scared from loneliness or
want, then are held and swaddled in their parent’s
arms, pressed against a beating heart and comforted
by a rhythm they’ve felt since the beginning.
As I thawed, I became overwhelmingly aware of my
need for God’s mercy in my life. In that very
moment, God cradled me in the warmth of Her
gentleness, returning me to my core—to Love. On this
August-like day in June, I remembered the real
purpose of prayer is the deepening of personal
realization in love—the awareness of God.
Friends, may you be warmed by the light of God. And
may you come to embrace that you have already been
found in Christ. And may you trust that even now,
with your words or despite the absence of them, the
Spirit is shaping you into the beloved child of God
you are.
To rest in the presence of God has often been called
‘prayer of the heart’ or contemplative prayer.
Prayer of the heart may use few words or none, but
it requires faith and a willing, attentive heart.
Sometimes we don’t pray because we may not know how
to, or we wonder which practice is the right one.
Our worry makes us miss the purpose of prayer. After
all, prayer isn’t about doing something right so
that we might change God; rather, we pray so that we
may become of aware of God’s presence in our lives.
[Adam Quine, pastor of First Presbyterian Church
in Lincoln] |
