Morning Prayer 26/100. No longer praying for….
Pray rain
Earlier this week, I stopped praying for.
In my morning meditation Tuesday, I was led to realize that if I pray for something, I affirm lack of something.
I am praying to fill an emptiness with whatever I am praying for, be it health or prosperity or love or relationship strength or security or peace or anything.
Came as a shock. As a Prayer Chaplain for several years, I’d gotten really comfortable asking, “Is there something you would like us to pray for?” Often, I don’t have to ask. The familiarity and strength of the Prayer Chaplain program at Unity Church of the Hills frequently has people just ask us to pray for something.
But strong was the message that praying for what one doesn’t have limits the praying to what isn’t, to what is wanted (and so isn’t present).
Somehow (and I think I know how) I was led to realize that praying is so much more than words, than asking. All at once scores of ways-to-pray words literally popped in my mind. Let’s call them “synonyms for ‘pray'”. They’re all verbs. They’re all ways of expressing, affirming, manifesting the truth our hearts and minds know is real.
Here are just a sampling:
dance praise nudge revel multiply laugh hum cheer define motivate
As I read several stories of the drought in Western States and the resulting wildfires and heard that Texas is quickly returning to drought status, my first thought was to pray for rain.
Fortunately and suddenly (again, I’m pretty sure how), I remembered not to pray for. Instead I could (and did)
dance rain praise rain nudge rain revel rain multiply rain laugh rain hum rain cheer rain define rain motivate rain
That rain — those rains — are real, not merely what I want (don’t have).
No, I didn’t literally do a rain dance or count the drops and multiply them by a larger number. I could do that. I could sing and laugh and run and shout the truth of my praying.
Or I can simply drop the “for”. Instead of “I pray for rain” I pray rain. Praying is nudging. I can pray rain and praying is laughing.
Good Friend God,
how wonderful to know I need not “pray for”
because asking for what I haven’t
only affirms that I haven’t.
Thank you for letting me know
the unlimited ways to pray, the infinite
actions that are actually praying
for they share energy, meaning, intention with you.
Whatever these actions may be
they express my concentration
on the focus of my prayer, whatever it may be.
I keep in God-mind
that as I pray thanks, “pray” means
so many ways I share my gratitude with you.
And as I pray prosperity, I affirm its presence
in so many ways in my being.
And as I pray good health, I sing its power
now and at any time.
And so it is. Amen.
Love and Blessings,
08/20/2015
In: Affirmation, Change, Intention, Prayer, Praying · Tagged with: Affirmations, Prayer, praying, spiritual simplicity
Morning Prayer 25/100. Who I am
Who I am
Who I am is the essence of self-awareness. Knowing one’s Self is knowing one’s worth, one’s joy, and one’s strength. Perhaps, the simplest (but not easiest) exploration of one’s true self-knowledge is this:
- Turn around “who I am” into the question “who am I?”
- Ask and answer. Honestly.
- Ask again and answer again.
- And again and again and again.
- Don’t stop there.
Give your Self the gift of affirming who you are. Give that gift repeatedly at an ever broader and deeper level. For example:
- Who I am is Tim.
- Who I am is Cindy’s husband.
- Who I am is a Dell employee.
- Who I am is a regular runner.
You are so much. You are so many wonderful personal elements you can possibly ask and answer Who am I? forever. Allow yourself to take your answers beyond (far beyond) your physical, earthly identity. Accept the infinite reaches of your mind and your spirituality.
And allow yourself to feel the awareness of each answer. Know it is much more than merely the statement Who I am….
One wonderful way to know the truth and wonder of each statement is to drop the “who” and the “is”.
- I am Tim.
- I am Cindy’s husband.
- I am God’s child.
It’s a beautiful sequence: Who am I?…. Who I am is…I am…!
Power and Presence,
Who am I?
Who I am is your creation.
Who I am is your blessing and your happiness.
I am your child.
I am your expression.
I am your worker and your being.
And I am thankful.
God, the grace you share with me
reaffirms your Presence
vitalizes my divine nature, my Christ Spirit.
I am complete and whole and prosperous
in all the wonder of your Truth.
And so it is. And so I am.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/18/2015
In: Affirmation, God, Gratitude, Happiness, Humility, Joy, Oneness, Prayer · Tagged with: Affirmations, Christ, Divine Spirit, Joy, Love, Oneness, Peace
Morning Prayer 24/100. Bowing in the dark
Bowing in the dark
“Bowing in the dark. That’s what they had to do!”
Cindy referred to the tech rehearsal for her upcoming community theater production. After the curtain fell, the lights came up too slowly and the players literally took their bows in the dark. Not something any good Thespian wants to happen after a show and before a live audience.
Bowing in the dark doesn’t, however, seem such a bad idea for all that you are and do and create every day, not merely on stage. Seems like giving yourself the congratulations you know/feel you deserve. You have no concern that others might think you’re showing off, being too proud. Just creating and enjoying the opportunity to celebrate who you are, what you do, how you accomplish.
A bow — a full-fledged bending at the waist acknowledging your performance. And the recognition it deserves. Even if no one notices. Especially if no one notices.
Perhaps you’re asking: “Why should I do that? What have I to celebrate?”
Here’s a short list of answers for you. And the short list is the start of your long list, whatever you desire to add.
You make take a bow (or several) in the dark or under full lights for
- Your smile
- That you listen
- Being able and willing to pray
- Work you perform
- Ways you play
- Your humor
- Gifts you’ve given
- Forgiveness you’ve experienced
- Songs you’ve sung
- Empathy you’ve shared
Sweet Spirit,
as director of our play
you take happiness
from our performance.
You delight that we perform
whether applauded by others or not.
As producer of our show
you encourage us to recognize our greatness.
Thank you for our ability
to take our bows
if only for ourselves.
Thank you for our eagerness
to appreciate that we are as we are,
that we do all we do,
that we have what we have.
And so we bow to you, Sweet Spirit.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/14/2015
Morning Prayer 23/100. To the well
To the well
The phrase going to the well has gotten a lot of use. The story of Jesus and the woman from Samaria (John 4). The proverb that if one goes to the well too often, her jar breaks. The risk that training too hard for road races or triathlon results in injury.
Exhaustion is the common element to admonitions about going to the well. Go too often and your bucket or jar may break and lose its usefulness. Go too often and your energy, your motivation may begin to ebb. Go too often and the water supply may run out.
If we’re looking into our spiritual well, it seems to me all of those can be overcome. At least, it’s worked for me when I’ve felt various exhaustions from creating my own too-many-trips-to-the-well syndrome.
Metaphysically, my bucket is the tools I use to draw spiritual “waters” (light, energy, grace, peace, joy) from my well. Prayer, journal, reading, conversations are all buckets that capture spiritual fluids. And sometimes I overuse them; sometimes I begin to realize a staleness.
I change my bucket. On January 1 this year, I switched from reading A Course in Miracles every morning to listening to James Twyman sing and read to me. Or I add a new journal activity such as listing Blessings I experience in addition to listing Thanksgivings.
I find new energy to take me to the well. That’s usually just a shift in perspective. For me, it’s realizing and reminding myself that I do not go to the well for just one purpose. I draw water from the well to refresh myself, to prepare nourishment, to cleanse my Self and my surroundings, to share the living liquid with others.
I know the water is without end. Even if my current well were to run dry, with faith and commitment I could dig another well, find another connection to the ever-flowing Spirit.
Nourishing Spirit,
you are the Source and the Supply of our living waters.
Our faith is the water provides us
every strength and joy and peace we need.
You are a fountain of blessings.
Our faith is the water is provided us
without end.
You are an endless well.
Thank you, Spirit, for our knowing
we have innumerable reasons to go to the well
and for showing us
the sublime refreshment if each and every visit.
And so it is. Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/11/2015
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