Reflections for 4/29/10

"Self-conscious prayer is not necessarily the best or the only form of prayer. To be praying, you don't need to know your are praying! How else could the Apostle Paul tell us to pray without ceasing? Paul was not naive or unaware of practical demands. He was a 'contemplative charismatic': Life and religion were synthesized; he had the vision of the whole."(R.Rohr "Radical Grace" p.171-172)

I certainly have set aside specific times for "self-conscious" prayer. It's usually at 9:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday. And of course Sunday mornings. But am I praying without knowing that I am?
I would have to say yes.

In some ways it is like having DSL instead of dial up. There is a constant flow of information coming to my brain, via the senses. Since I view the senses and the brain as gifts from God, to be used by God to help me understand the world around me.

My work is prayer. My life outside of work is prayer. The two are perhaps so intertwined that I don't even notice it. And that may be why it works. Prayer isn't a distraction for me. It is that constant source of energy that enables me to do what needs to be done. And to appreciate and respond to the world around me.

So rather than seeing prayer as just another task, perhaps it is better to see it as what binds all the aspects of being me together.

Blessings,
Ed