Prayer, A Matter of Life-Part I PDF Print

Introduction

Everything is stored in the memory of God's heart. Of course, this memory is older than I am. Prayer is to connect to the heart of God where His living memory is stored. Once connected to God's memory through prayer, we align our life in God and ministry to God's continuing work of love. To pray in the Spirit means our prayer and work, "ora et labora", are part of the continuing work of the Spirit. This presentation is an exploration to discover what has been already stored in the heart from the beginning.

There are many definitions and descriptions of prayer. Many books have been written about prayer and many teachings about prayer taught. But the world is rapidly producing men and women of technology and science more than men and women of prayer and faith. Almost any information in the world that we need to access is stored in computers. It is a remarkable tool, but it is simply a storage and a recall instrument.

The interconnection in the world of computers is mind boggling. The world is now a global village. It is getting closer and closer to us, not only on the level of the mind and imagination, but, to a certain degree, on the level of the physical. While the world is expanding from the rhythm of the movement of the tiny organism called "cell", the movement of its expansion is not only outward but inward.

God moves mysteriously from inward-outward and from outward-inward. God has given humanity intelligence which is a mere copy of God’s intelligence. But intelligence, meaning the mind, is not enough. We were created in a package. Man is only opening up a portion of the package, and that is the package of intelligence. Intelligence needs love in order that dominion in this universe will be governed by the prime lover of all times, God.

We are fascinated with brilliant men and women more than anything else. "WOW, THAT PERSON IS BRILLIANT!" And we strive to be that kind of person in the world of comparison and competition. But there is another fascination which is more quiet, the fascination of holy people. It is a subdued "Wow, holy?"


God's order in this world is an order of rhythm. Human order is the order of body, soul and spirit. Prayer is in the order  and rhythm of the spirit.  Spirit is referred to here as the principle, or the center of man's being. The spirit points to the capacity of man to transcend. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.

When God breathed on man in His sojourn in the Garden of Paradise, Resurrection and Pentecost, it was a breath of transcendence, a gift of God to the community of humanity. 

WHAT PRAYER IS NOT!
  • Prayer is not praying to any other gods. Prayer is a prayer to the True God. The True God is the One who made us and not the god we have made him to be.
  • Prayer is not to be empty. Prayer is to be filled with the fullness of God. Prayer is an infusion of grace.
  • Prayer is not an obligation imposed by regulations and laws. Prayer is imposed by love.
  • Prayer life is not only for monks, hermits, nuns and priests. A life of prayer is for everyone.
  • Prayer is not to escape from oneself. Prayer is to face oneself before God.
  • Prayer is not “showing-off.” Prayer is an interior disposition of the heart.
  • Prayer is not dependent on when we need it, or when we feel like it. Prayer is an habitual disposition of being present in God.
  • Prayer is not a condition to please others. Prayer is a condition to please God.
  • Prayer is not only a response to the call made during the day. Prayer is a response to the call made during the night.
  • Prayer is not merely being on Mount Everest or being in the Sahara Desert, but it is being on the mount and in the desert of your heart.

IF THE WAY WE LIVE IS THE WAY WE PRAY, THEN WHAT?

a)      The way we pray is the way we live.
b)      The way we perceive in relationship is the way we perceive God.
c)     The way we pray is a matter of life.
d)      The way we pray is a matter of a relationship of the heart.

1. THE WAY WE PRAY IS THE WAY WE LIVE

Prayer is not a function, it is a state of being and relationship. We are not instruments of God. We are essentially the beloveds of God and not God's utilities. We are persons in relationship. In prayer, we are persons in the journey of love and the journey of hope and faith. We are persons who are in love and beloved. 

2. THE WAY WE PERCEIVE IN RELATIONSHIP IS THE WAY WE PERCEIVE GOD

The way I am in my relationships with others is the way I am in my relationship with God. The way I treat others is the way I am before God.

Knowing man's world of negativity, we expect negativity in relationship. We sometimes do not enjoy life in relationship because we allow the spirit of negativity to operate within us and flourish in the relationship.

We cannot enjoy relationships because of sin and brokenness. We are conditioned by our environment. The images and memories, actions and reactions on the basis of low self-esteem, inferiority, insensitivity, bitterness, judgments, putdowns, compulsion to possess and to see things as threats and danger, sometimes make our heart sad.

For example, I am bitter and resentful because I do not have the things I desire that others have. I put down and judge people because they cannot measure up to the box of my fixation. I see things in squares and boxes. When things do not fit into the square or box, they are not right and are excluded. Selectiveness is the disease of a judging heart.

I am insensitive because I numb myself from anything coming at me. I want to hold on, control and protect my own perception of reality. I am fearful because things around me are not friendly. I am fearful because I am insecure of the unknown. I do not like what I feel and I am afraid to return to the sad memories of my past. Prayer is important to connect us to the rhythm of joy, peace, forgiveness and love. Prayer life is a life of nourishment of the spirit. Prayer allows us to celebrate and enjoy life.

The sun is silent. It appears majestic and spectacular as it rises in the morning, but it is silent. To enjoy the silence of dawn is to enjoy a special presence of the light. Sunrise is a celebration of life. Prayer is a way of enjoying the presence at dawn, celebrating the presence in silence, and nourishing the spirit so that the whole day is spent just reflecting, an echoing of the silence and celebration of joy and new life.

3. THE WAY WE PRAY IS A MATTER OF LIFE

Prayer is all about receiving and giving life. In the scriptures the word "listen" or "hear" is indicated many times. To listen is to have life. The pre-note of the Ten Commandments is "Listen, Israel." For the Hebrew mind, to listen, and to live what you have heard, is one and the same process. Listening to the word is at the same time obeying the word. Prayer is listening to the revelation of God, who desperately wants to give us life, life in abundance.

Prayer is not only a matter of life but also a matter of death. Prayer is taking off our sandals in the presence of God. It is death to something that is part of ourselves. It is allowing Jesus to wash our feet, to take away the dirtiest part of our lives.

4. THE WAY WE PRAY IS A MATTER OF A RELATIONSHIP OF THE HEART

A heart relationship is beyond a relationship of language and verbals, ideas and thoughts, discourses and discussions, orders and feedback, inputs and outputs. It is a relationship of identities, listening to the heart with love. We were born in the heart of God's silence. To enter into God's heart is to enter the door of silence.

The posture of silence in spiritual relationship is essential. Silence is the language with which the Spirit communicates. The Spirit's communication is a communication of light, and light communicates in silence. This is the rhythm of God’s communication in the spiritual world.

More often in relationships we communicate through noise and sounds. This is how we communicate in the physical order. In the order of the spiritual world we communicate in silence, the doorway to discover the heart of the person.  It opens the door to listen to those feelings, groanings and cries that are invisible to the physical and mental eyes. Silence is listening to the unrevealed, unexpressed, unfathomed mysteries of the unknown.

In the world of brokenness, people expect us to read what is written in their hearts. In a sense prayer is expecting God just to read what is written in our hearts. This is the way compassionate people pray. Their prayer is expressed simply by asking God to convey what they cannot put into words, because the passion of their heart remains silent in the agony of the suffering they see around them.

Excerpt from book entitled, ABC of Prayer by Rev. Michael B. Semana, © 2001

 
 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]