People in the major religious traditions of the world,
with the possible exception of Buddhism, believe in and practice some form of
prayer. Christians pray to
God---classically understood as God the Father.
In my own devotional life, I am just as content to pray to God the
Mother. In fact, I like having both
parental images. One gets different
content with each image.
Most of us have had a father and a mother. Even if we came from a single-parent family,
many of our friends would have had both parents. If you think about fathers, then you begin to
get a sense of the “content” of the image of God the Father. In my case, my father---Dad---was a
hard-working farmer. So that image is
tinged with all sorts of agricultural images, too. He cultivated the land; he took care of
animals. So the father image has
connotations of someone who cares and is careful. If your dad worked in a factory or taught
school, likely your “content” is different than my content.
The same goes with the image of God the Mother. For many people this is a bit strange to
hear. Probably most people who grew up
within the church seldom or never heard people use that phrase, God the Mother. It is a biblical and historical image, but no
one ever told me that either! Again,
there are fairly predictable things associated with the image of mother. Typically she is more tender than
father. Usually images of nurturer and
comforter come with that image.
As Christians when we pray, we are normally dealing with
that kind of God. Jews have a prayer
life that is similar to Christians, but it is not the same. When I am with the Jewish community, I get a
more powerful sense of the group than I typically get in Christian
congregations. It seems Jews see God,
first of all, as the God of a people.
Only secondarily do Jews have that sense of individuality. To be a Jew is to belong to a people---a
people called together and bound in a covenant with God and with each
other. To that end, prayer feels more
corporate.
When Muslims turn to Allah in prayer, I usually feel like
God has become more mighty and more awesome.
Just watching the devout Muslim pray five times a day ups the ante in my
book. And they assume a posture that
clearly humbles the believer in the face of that God, Allah. The Muslim gets on bended knew and prostrates
herself or himself on the floor. It is a
clear sign of humility to place your forehead on the floor below yourself. It makes me feel like a wimp just to sit in
my chair and close my eyes.
I suppose most of us---if we pray at all---tend to do it
on the run. We give a momentary nod in
the direction of the Divinity and get on with the business of the day. Of course, some people are more dedicated and
disciplined than that, but I suspect my description covers the bulk of the
people. I know my own life of prayer too
often is a quick hello to God, a petition for something to come my way, and an
adios to God on my way to my own affairs.
I have done my duty, but have I been dutiful?
What would it be to take prayer seriously? Immediately, my mind went to that Pauline
idea of prayer unceasingly. That passage
occurs in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (5:17) There Paul says, “Rejoice always, pray
without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus for you.” Some translations say to “pray constantly.” It certainly depends on how you define prayer
whether praying constantly is possible.
For example, if prayer is a matter of uttering holy
words, then it seems clear to me you cannot pray unceasingly. I don’t utter holy words during sleep,
etc. But if prayer is more like an
attitude or perspective, then it is conceivable to see prayer as a
constant. I was helped to think about
this second option by a short article I recently read. David Brattston writes
that “As long as we speak and act in accordance with the divine will…we are
praying.”
I like the basic idea that prayer is somehow being in
accordance with the divine will. That
makes prayer different than simply uttering holy words, although that counts,
too. It’s a broader understanding of
prayer. It makes prayer an action, as
well as speaking words. To put it
another way, prayer can be my verbal articulation or prayer could be my life in
action.
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