On the subject of prayers and praying:
When we have difficult time...or need a helping hand, we often call upon a friend. We vent, we cry, we make promises, we accuse, we forgive, we do a great many things....but one thing we DO know, is that a good friend who loves us will always listen, and at times, forgive.
This is the very same quality that we can find in prayer. We confide in our best mates because we feel strongly that we can trust them....when it comes to advice, we strongly feel that they will guide us in a good direction (often times they just help us look at a situation from a fresh perspective). We seldom need to feel ashamed, or that we are asking too much of our close friends, because we also feel strongly that they would do the same for us....this is the very fabric of friendship!
A relationship with God (regardless of how He/She is named or envisioned) is NO different!!!
For the sake of continuity...lets just refer to God as..........Roger.
Roger loves us to a degree that we cannot fathom.....Roger made a sacrifice on our behalf that we as mere mortals can in no way pay back. But the cool thing about Roger, is that he asks only one thing....the SAME thing that our friends ask of us.............TRUST ME.
Now our friends DO have limitations on what they can deliver....Roger does not. Our friends...even when those limits have been reached...and in the view of our pain and frustration...at the very least....sympathise and have that compassion that helps us feel like we are not alone.
NOW
What happens when we just don't HAVE friends like this? Well, we have Roger...we will ALWAYS have Roger. Fact is...sometimes Roger feels abandoned and lonely! The same feeling we get when someone out of the clear blue shows up and cares for what we think and feel.....Roger gets when this happens to HIM. Only difference being....Roger knows us already, and has been waiting with a broken heart for us to come back and have a wee chat!
WEE CHATS:
That is all that prayer is....a wee chat. Some people prefer to think of prayer as this highly formatted, somber, head bowed....lots of "Thy's" and "Thou's" and other such formalities....and it certainly can be...but lets just leave that for Church shall we? The best prayers are when we just stop wherever and whenever...and say "Hey Roger! I need to get some shit off my chest...got a minute?" And just let it out! Speak normally, speak softly or loudly.....express TRUE emotion (we get pissed off at friends...and are fully allowed to be pissed off at Roger). Roger always listens....Roger knows us better than we know ourselves....Roger will always act upon what we truly need (we seldom have any clue as to what that is).....Roger will weigh out wants, and act on them accordingly. Roger is not some Gandalf looking dude on a cloud chucking thunderbolts and killing babies. Roger is a father to millions and millions of kids (Roger needs Tylenol)......and loves the fuck-ups as much if not MORE than the ones that seemingly have a clue (stress "seemingly"). Roger wears bowling shirts.....surf shorts....golf pants. Roger sometimes needs a shave....Roger looks like and sounds like whatever YOU want Roger to look and sound like.
Ever use words like like "wish" and "hope"? Congrats....you are praying! Ever just THINK about Roger? Congrats....you are praying!
It is quite alright to get fully fucked off at Roger!! Roger can handle it. Roger understands that whilst He did a perfect job making you....he INTENTIONALLY made you imperfect....so much so, that you just CANT "get it" all the time. Roger sheds tears for you all the time, because like any parent.....Roger has to take you by the ears when you lose the plot. Roger hates doing that....but it is almost always for your own good.
That brings me to the key here.....Roger is a parent, YOU are the child. Children always think they have it all figured out....and a good parent knows better and would like to always protect you from yourself.....but sometimes we just have to let our kids fall. This hurts like hell....but we have the wisdom of our years to help us understand that sometimes that is the ONLY way a lesson can be taught. We know this, and Roger knows it best of all.
WHAT DO WE GET??
Simply put....we get the Grace of knowing that we decided to shift the focus off of the world for a wee bit....and onto Roger! We get the satisfaction of knowing when we pray for others...that not only have we given a gift to THEM...but also to Roger!
I am an Evangelist....I pray for people....it is what I do. Some others enter monastery....some take Holy Vows.....some are missionaries in faraway places.....all very important jobs when it comes to helping brothers and sisters find the peace that a child finds in the arms of it's parent. Bringing people to Roger.
Most important and difficult job of all??? Prayer.
One of my favourite sayings is: "The best prayers are the ones we say when we really don't want to.
LASTLY: (yay)
When we pray...we are giving someone a gift that transcends anything physical we can give. Who doesn't like being thanked for a gift?
When someone prays for us....we have been offered a gift beyond measure. Who would not thank someone for a gift like that?
All prayers lead to Roger.....Roger enjoys a thank you for your life and faith that makes it possible for you to pray.....and returns that thank you by listening to those prayers....and acting upon some of them.
Always thank someone when they offer to pray for you to Roger!
Pax Et Bonum.
