Prayerful Life

 

Aligned with the Source

“Grace is available for each of us every day—our spiritual daily bread—but we’ve got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach

          I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer lately. I find myself praying more than I used to but in less formal ways. Perhaps you are a person who prays and has a special time of day and particular ritual for praying. I know folks who light incense and kneel and fervently pray. I’m not one of those. Instead, I find myself talking to God as though God were a shadow lurking around me—always present. I ask questions, and ask for help with little things, and I fuss at God when things are hard for me. I ask Liza to pray to her “dog-god” for certain things, and I’m sure she does. I pray for our country, for folks who are sick, and I ask for all the chaos to somehow make sense. I pray for insight and understanding, and sometimes I rail at God for not doing what I think a higher power ought to do.

          Sarah Ban Breathnach says, “Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.” I hear that message from Caroline Myss, too. She says that we should pray with expectation of an answer. Here is what I believe: When we pray to a divine source—whatever we call it—we align ourselves with the creative energy of the universe. We tap into it and stay connected. According to Caroline Myss, we all have a guardian angel whose job it is to guide us, but we must ask for that guidance. If we ask for guidance, however, we are assured of receiving it. Now, here’s the catch—it may come in a different form than we ask for, but it is still valid.

          It helps me to visualize the cosmos in the form of a web or a grid, with billions of strands. One of those strands is connected to me, or to you, and is also connected to everything else in creation. When we think a prayer, or speak a prayer, it sends a small charge of energy out through our strand, spreads across the strands connecting us to others, and eventually lights all the strands in the universe. It is the collective energy of all the strands vibrating together that creates the conditions for change. So when the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, when groups gather to pray the rosary, when the Koran calls the faithful to prayers several times a day, or when we simply think a prayerful thought, we are lighting up the universe with our collective prayerful energy. I like that image. It rekindles my hope.

If you are not a praying person, I hope this gives you incentive to become one. You do not have to enact rituals. All you need to do is speak your heart, and then expect the Source to answer.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane