HOW AND WHEN AND WHERE AND WITH WHOM DO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD PRAY?

HOW AND WHEN AND WHERE AND WITH WHOM DO THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD PRAY?
by Rev. Deborah Rodriguez
March 08, 2008 04:57


I was the guest speaker at Universal Wisdom Church on Sunday, March 9, 2008.

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I'm not going to talk about IF we pray. Maybe some of you don't pray, or don't want to pray, or you won't admit it one way or another. But, I'm certain that we all pray.

Now, how would I know what YOU do? Give me a few minutes to clarify…

I think of prayer as the words and actions we use when we talk to our divine. It matters not who or what we consider sacred, or to whom or what we pray. It matters not what name we use. It matters not how we position ourselves. It matters not what we say. Some of us can only say words such as, "I hope," or "I'll keep you in my thoughts," and that's okay. That we might think there is something besides ourselves that governs the universe means that we pray because we think about that something, that higher power. Our thinking is our praying.

How and when and where we pray is as diverse as how or when or where we cook. I love to cook. Do you cook? Maybe not. But, you eat nonetheless, yes? How was your last meal prepared? Was it fried, baked, micro-waved, boiled, broiled, braised, slow cooked, hard-boiled, BBQ'ed, sun-baked, sun-dried? Was it out of a can, a jar? Did you drive through a local fast-food place?

Or, maybe your food was raw? Maybe you ate only vegetables. How was your food seasoned? Or, was it seasoned at all? Maybe you normally eat only certain types of fish, or you eat eggs but no other dairy? Maybe you eat nothing that begins with the letter "B" -- broccoli, beans, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, baked Alaska, butter?

All that being said, we may not all cook but we all eat. So now maybe we can think about how we all pray differently.



So, how do you pray? Where, and when, and with whom?

To pray in peace we need safety, a secure setting, in this room, the space in this church, at this time of this day, alongside each other. There is safety in numbers after all. And, we are social beings, we like to gather and do things together. We can be together and feel secure at this time in this place.

So, or course, we pray with others in a church. Yet, each church is different because each religion is different. Some churches have pews made of hard, hard wood, but then you get to kneel on a softer, padded piece of furniture in front of you. Then, once again, you sit back up on that hard wooden bench.

Thank you Oscar for these nice & soft chairs!

Does your prayer methodology depend upon where you reside? Where is your birth corner of the world? Maybe before you sat here with us, you used to pray in a temple or a mosque? Did you have to face a certain direction? Do you still kneel or bow or lay down in a prone position when you pray at home?

Do you don a particular piece or type of clothing, maybe a robe or other attire? Do you cover part of your body, your whole body? Do only your eyes and hands show to the world? Maybe just your head is covered?

Some of us might seek solitude and silence for meditation. Meditation is a method of prayer. It's calming, soothing to the mind and soul and good for a body's blood pressure.

Rather than meditate, we might chant. Does anyone remember the chant:

Nam miojo rengue quio? What's that mean anyway?

Maybe you pray when you marathon? Are you a marathon reader? Or a marathon quilter? Maybe you are a runner? A writer? Maybe you garden for hours on end. Is there reverence in a garden? You bet! Things that grow are reverent! That we help beautiful things to grow is reverent!

Maybe you paint? Do you pray while you mix your colors, pray that the color you mix will be the right color?

Do we pray silently in our thoughts, or dreams? unconsciously, noiselessly, or maybe we move our lips but make no sound?

Did you build an alter in your home, with candles and pictures or icons, or no icons? Is there a picture of Jesus? Mohamed? Buddha? Confuscious? A Flying Spaghetti Monster? Your kids?

Do you light candles? Do you light candles online and send them to others to help light their way in times of darkness? How much incense do you burn? Is there sacred water nearby?

Do you pray on street corners, shouting to your higher power above the noise of the traffic?

Do you wear a kind of adornment around your neck, maybe a cross or a star or a chalice or a dream catcher? Do you hold onto it while saying your words?

Do you cross yourself with your hand?

Do you pray with others and dance in a circle? Are there drums in the background? Flutes? The wind? Silence?

You may prefer to sit in the middle of the forest and listen for the sounds of the trees? Or for the wind blowing the desert sands? On the beach with the rushing waves?

Do you pray in another Tongue other than the one you use in public conversations?

Do you read the words from your sacred book, or create prayers of poetry? Are you sitting in a certain position, the lotus position comes to mind, even though MY knees won't bend like that anymore.

When you pray, do you ask for help for others, family or friends? For yourself? How do you feel about others praying for you?

Do you pray at night, wishing upon the stars? How do you pray during the day? Again, do you look up into the "Heavens?"

How many of us kneel by the side of a bed and place our hands together in a certain position while reciting a poem that we learned in our youth?

Maybe you count beads instead. Do you use Rosary beads? How many beads do you use? How many psalms do you recite? Or, do you say the same thing over and over again as you touch and hold each separate bead?

Does anyone you know use different kinds of beads on which they pray? Are they wooden beads, or olive seeds, or ivory, amber, pearls, or maybe plastic? Do they string a certain number of beads to represent divine thoughts? Some prayer beads may be non-denominational in practice. In his book, Simply Pray, Erik Walker Wikstrom offers a modern prayer practice that can be customized to meet individual spiritual needs. Using a set of 28 beads as a frame of reference, the practice includes centering and entering-in prayers, breath prayers and prayers of Naming, Knowing, Listening and Loving.

Do people you know repeat chants or devotions? Do they use a prayer rope made of leather? Maybe they use loops of knotted wool, instead?

Do you pray in a tent, raising your hands and arms into the air, shouting, singing, being healed, fainting?

Each time we give thanks for our food it's a prayer. Do YOU pray before each of your meals? Do you use salts or herbs to enhance your thoughts and words as well as your food?

Do you pray when you wake? When you find you have been granted yet another day and are able to rise to face it.

Do you pray in your daily speech? How many of us pray only on certain days of the week or only on holy days? How about on each and every day, 24/7/365?

How many of us allow total strangers into our houses to pray with us when they knock on our doors on Sundays or leave us their publications?

Do you pray while using your fingers? Each finger can represent specific things you might pray for:

1 pray for those closest to you using your thumb

2 use your pointer finger for those who point us in the right direction, those who teach us, instruct us, heal us

3 use your tall finger for the leaders in your lives

4 your ring finger, the weakest finger can be used to remind us to pray for those who hurt, weak, or in need

5 we are little compared to the world around us; our little fingers can remind us to pray for ourselves,



How many of us pray before we begin a journey, or a new job, or when we reach a milestone in our lives? When a newborn cries for the first time? When a newborn doesn't take that all important first breath? When any friend or loved one passes on? Nary a graveside service goes without prayer!

Is it hard for us to pray for people we don't like?

I've seen many bumper stickers over the years that remind us to pray for our military, our men and women in uniform. How many or us pray for those in the service of other countries? For our enemies in war?

Do we pray for the neighbor we can hardly tolerate? You bet! That's probably one of the hardest things for ME to do, but, you bet, I do it! We're taught to love our neighbors, but, y'know, no one ever told me I had to LIKE my neighbors!

What have I left out? How many other ways can you think of to pray? At what times, what other places, with whom?

Again, the fact that we might think that there is something besides ourselves that governs our universe means that we pray because we think about that higher power. Our thinking is our praying. And, any time we think or we reference our holy one then we are praying.

And don't we pray that our divine one listens and answers?

Reverend Deborah Rodriguez
Copyright 2008; All Rights Reserved
My thanks to the Reverend Oscar Reconco for letting me have the lecture.
Namaste.

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