We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
What is prayer?
9 comments:
Most people I know see prayer as something you should do very often. I wonder if it can not be something like an attitude. Something that you do not only need to act out actively, but that should accompany your living...
At least there should not be any pressure on how often you do it and so on.
Lukas,
Thanks. This must be a hard question. Hmm? I don't think prayer is an attitude, but I agree that it should accompany Christian living. So if prayer is something that we do actively, what is it that we are doing?
Today it was laying things out that I've
been anxious about, and asking God to enter into
those things. Being quiet, listening to how he
speaks.
Angela,
Thanks. Communication - asking, speaking, and listening. Those are good suggestions.
On Friday, I'll do a short post on prayer.
I could list you all the different ways of praying (like intercession...), but I guess the question is: "What is prayer really?".
I struggle with it, I can not really explain it. But I believe, that God hears what I say and that he is interested in what I say and that prayer changes things as well as me! And as I believe, I am able to practise it.
Lukas,
Yes, hard to explain. I can see you're wrestling with it and that's good. It's important and considering the amount of comments here it looks like lots of other people struggle with how to formulate a reply too.
Look out for my short post on what I think of Friday.
Prayer can be an experience. I woke up Monday morning at 3 a.m. in the middle of a prayer for a dying friend. I woke up at 3 a.m. in the middle of a prayer that almost immediately turned from praying for him to prayers for his friends and family--that they would embrace the grace of god and that my friend was now in the presence of god. There was other stuff, too. After @ 30 minutes of trying to get back to sleep, I got up and read my e-mail to learn that my friend had, indeed, died @ 5 hours before that.
"Pray without ceasing." That's one. Prayer should be pouring myself out and into god just as he has poured himself out for me. Not just asking, but talking and listening.
Carter,
Thanks. So very sorry to hear about your friend. Prayers are indeed needed for friends and family.
Prayer is indeed an experience and a whole lot more. Talking and listening are crucial and I'm glad you brought them up.
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