The prayerful present
Do you say your prayers every night?” grandma asked her grandson. “Oh, yes!” replied the little lad. “And every morning?” she asked again. “No!” said the boy, “I’m not scared during the day time.” Aren’t we often like this boy whose prayers arise out of fear and the desire to get favours? However, the Bible says: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Prayer is often understood as talking to God. It’s certainly elevating to worship in a holy place like a mandir, masjid, church or gurudwara. One also does well by reading and reflecting upon sacred scriptures. But, apart from sacred sanctuaries and scriptures, God abides in everyone, everything, everywhere, always.
Today, may I become aware of God’s presence?
“Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; If I go down to the depths of the earth, you are there; If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me” (Psalm 139:7-10).
Here, the psalmist is gratefully aware of God’s omnipresence and praises God, first, for his body.
“I praise you for the wonder of my being!” (Psalm 139:14) In silence, if I merely become aware of my uninterrupted breathing, heartbeat and the complex body-systems that keep me alive and active, I shall be overwhelmed with admiration and adoration. May I praise God for my body itself, a God-gifted “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). May I also be present to God not only as a bodily being, but also offer up myself as “present”: my gift to God.
Jesus was constantly in communion with God, whom he called Abba, Father, and connected to God’s created cosmos. He told of lilies in the fields, sheep in the meadows and sparrows in the skies cared for by a gracious God, who continuously speaks to me through all these. Moreover, Nature invites me to grow with the grass, flow as the rivers and soar like the birds who unceasingly praise God. May my voice synchronise with the ceaseless cosmic canticle.
Prayer is being in grateful communion with God, with Nature, with one’s truest self, and with all people, worldwide. Said a pious old woman after the war: “God was so good to me. I prayed and prayed, so all the bombs fell on the other side of town!” Prayer seeks not only my welfare, but the good of all people, whom I entrust into God’s maternal embrace with deep faith.
Finally, rather than praying to God to do my will, may I seek to do God’s will by whispering with the prophet, Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!”
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