Beautiful. Really resonates with me. My prayer life was in the toilet until I read some process theology. If God can lure and draw and persuade in a nonsensory way, we can too (just a bit less effectively, presumably). So my prayerful longings for a love-based universe beam out into everyone else's "initial aims" and that can influence others (as well as myself) to maybe be more loving. You said similar stuff in your post, just more elegantly.
We Friends (Quakers) have a saying in response to prayer requests, I hold you in the Light. This clarifies trusting in Christ and not in my problem-solving skills.
Richard Rohr discusses how Christ is in solidarity with our suffering. I find much comfort in believing this. God is not like a vending machine where I put my request in and get the candy bar, but Christ is going through the challenges of being human with me, with all of us.
Lately, my meditation/prayer time has become more about being in the presence of God, sensing that I am held in love, asking to be transformed by Divine Love, and stating, "I am here to listen."
This is a big change since I grew up in a conservative Evangelical Church. Thank you for these thoughtful questions.
I had someone else mention this same thing about the Light not long ago. It's beautiful, isn't it?
I mean, I will say that have had my own ongoing battle with thinking through light and darkness, none of which is meant to disagree with anything you are saying, and now that I'm bringing it up, it actually parallels the discussion here on power; namely, that light can be thought of as this blinding propositional truth thing, or as this luminous relational thing.
I sense you leaning toward the latter. Me too ... and may the light be with you. :)
Yes, the latter. At the end of yoga class, the teacher says, "Namaste!"-- the light, teacher, student in me sees the light, student, teacher in you.
I do appreciate looking at multiple views of light. Lucifer, means light-bringer or morning star, and brought illumination but not wisdom. Darkness is where the seed dies, germinates, and grows.
God suffers with me and can comfort me with empathy and compassion..
I can mourn with God for others' suffering and ask that he offer them comfort and even give spiritual insight to those who are tangled in defensive, aggressive behaviors.
I can co-create with God awareness of His goodness and His lures / wooing toward beauty, complexity, love.
I can hear some novel ways, that align with God's love, to show up in any situation .
Yes, what lots of folks might not realize is that technically, the omnipotent God (a non-process God) cannot interact with me with empathy and compassion. The best such a deity can do is pretend, because that deity, as the classic thinking goes, cannot actually suffer. They are, impassable.
I'm a verbal processor - so I disguise my verbal processing as prayer (in case anyone asks why I'm speaking to myself!) I joke but often prayer is simply me working stuff through in conversation with God.
For me, Prayer often is carried on a deep sigh-An "Oh Father ..." where words fail me. Prayer can take the form of a lament or simple "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you" I have a regular practice of contemplative prayer, and when the weather is nice, I like to find a perch along the Oldman River, watch the water flow by, the wind in the trees, the magpies and the occasional deer. My goto "mantra" these days seems to be "I am my beloveds and he is mine." And in those rare times I become a little more still I think I'm a little more aware of the nudges and invitations of the Spirit.
Edit-Confession: I'm feeling rather feral in my relationship to my inherited faith stories, and sterilized versions of its practices - I love them for what they are, and I am grateful for them but these days they fit more like Marco Rubio's new shoes.
Thank you, Jonathan! As I read this, I realized I don't even think of "power" in this way anymore. What changed? How did it change? Through lots of grief, and solitude, and loneliness, and putting on new lenses (much happened through living overseas)... Presence is now so dear to my heart. Your description of prayer rings so true now.
I also think a lot about the process/open and relational theology (and Wesleyan) idea that God woos, invites, and calls us moment by moment, or what Epperly calls the “milli-second” coming of Christ. In my occasional good moments, I am more aware of this - might this be what Paul means by pray "without ceasing?"
Gosh, i think it ("without ceasing") must be something like that... that at the edge of however we would define living and the beginning of the edge of however we would define praying are so blurred that they are one in the same.
Oh crap - now you want to make this personal. :) Thanks for the question.
A lot of what I would call my prayer life comes from “spiritual reading” - sometimes the Bible but a lot of times new books or sometimes books that I have read several times before (e.g., stuff by Nouwen or Buechner). I bought Chad Bahl’s book (The Death of Supernaturalism) a couple of months ago and tried to “speed” read it. Now I am going through it more thoughtfully. The relatively short first chapter this morning took an hour. I often read for my “head” but find that God speaks to my “heart” in ways that surprise me.
I also find my self sometimes praying for the healing of others even when I don’t know what to pray. Maxie Dunnam wrote about the use of imagination in prayers of intercession. When my mom was in the last few months of her life, I would imagine bringer her to Jesus, who would embrace her and speak to her. This was at least helpful to me.
The last couple of weeks, my wife has been struggling with complications from a root canal. She is doing much better this week but was in a lot of pain and unable to sleep most of last week. In the middle of the night I found myself praying for her in a similar way. Interestingly, I am using Bruce Epperly’s Lenten devotional in the morning. He is going through Mark’s Gospel, and many of the passages the past two week have been on healing. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not. Healing is coming to my wife that included another visit to the endodontist, salt water rinses, and over the counter pain meds.
I relate to all of this. A lot. Reading (and I'd throw podcast listening in there, too) is a way that I pray. Honestly, I even approach the reading and listening that way sometimes, as I imagine communing with the divine in these ways.
And yes, thank you for mentioning 'imagination.' Many many days, that is what I am doing when I pray. I imagine someone in my mind. Then I imagine love. Then I smash the whole thing together. Haha. Very scientific.
Ah, yes. That awakening is a beautiful thing. I find it hard to pray in words these days -- not because my God is too small but because my God is so big. One great benefit -- prayer can happen anywhere, anytime. Often starts with awe...
Beautiful. Really resonates with me. My prayer life was in the toilet until I read some process theology. If God can lure and draw and persuade in a nonsensory way, we can too (just a bit less effectively, presumably). So my prayerful longings for a love-based universe beam out into everyone else's "initial aims" and that can influence others (as well as myself) to maybe be more loving. You said similar stuff in your post, just more elegantly.
haha, who says 'toilet' isn't an elegant way to put it?
We Friends (Quakers) have a saying in response to prayer requests, I hold you in the Light. This clarifies trusting in Christ and not in my problem-solving skills.
Richard Rohr discusses how Christ is in solidarity with our suffering. I find much comfort in believing this. God is not like a vending machine where I put my request in and get the candy bar, but Christ is going through the challenges of being human with me, with all of us.
Lately, my meditation/prayer time has become more about being in the presence of God, sensing that I am held in love, asking to be transformed by Divine Love, and stating, "I am here to listen."
This is a big change since I grew up in a conservative Evangelical Church. Thank you for these thoughtful questions.
I had someone else mention this same thing about the Light not long ago. It's beautiful, isn't it?
I mean, I will say that have had my own ongoing battle with thinking through light and darkness, none of which is meant to disagree with anything you are saying, and now that I'm bringing it up, it actually parallels the discussion here on power; namely, that light can be thought of as this blinding propositional truth thing, or as this luminous relational thing.
I sense you leaning toward the latter. Me too ... and may the light be with you. :)
Yes, the latter. At the end of yoga class, the teacher says, "Namaste!"-- the light, teacher, student in me sees the light, student, teacher in you.
I do appreciate looking at multiple views of light. Lucifer, means light-bringer or morning star, and brought illumination but not wisdom. Darkness is where the seed dies, germinates, and grows.
Benefits of a process worldview in prayer:
God suffers with me and can comfort me with empathy and compassion..
I can mourn with God for others' suffering and ask that he offer them comfort and even give spiritual insight to those who are tangled in defensive, aggressive behaviors.
I can co-create with God awareness of His goodness and His lures / wooing toward beauty, complexity, love.
I can hear some novel ways, that align with God's love, to show up in any situation .
Nice addition .. thank you.
Yes, what lots of folks might not realize is that technically, the omnipotent God (a non-process God) cannot interact with me with empathy and compassion. The best such a deity can do is pretend, because that deity, as the classic thinking goes, cannot actually suffer. They are, impassable.
Thanks so much for this. Really lands nicely for me.
thank you, Michael. what's something-either from this list or your own-that helps you most with prayer?
I'm a verbal processor - so I disguise my verbal processing as prayer (in case anyone asks why I'm speaking to myself!) I joke but often prayer is simply me working stuff through in conversation with God.
For me, Prayer often is carried on a deep sigh-An "Oh Father ..." where words fail me. Prayer can take the form of a lament or simple "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you" I have a regular practice of contemplative prayer, and when the weather is nice, I like to find a perch along the Oldman River, watch the water flow by, the wind in the trees, the magpies and the occasional deer. My goto "mantra" these days seems to be "I am my beloveds and he is mine." And in those rare times I become a little more still I think I'm a little more aware of the nudges and invitations of the Spirit.
Edit-Confession: I'm feeling rather feral in my relationship to my inherited faith stories, and sterilized versions of its practices - I love them for what they are, and I am grateful for them but these days they fit more like Marco Rubio's new shoes.
😂 You make me laugh. Yes to all this.
Thank you, Jonathan! As I read this, I realized I don't even think of "power" in this way anymore. What changed? How did it change? Through lots of grief, and solitude, and loneliness, and putting on new lenses (much happened through living overseas)... Presence is now so dear to my heart. Your description of prayer rings so true now.
Grief, solitutde, loneliness, living somewhere else … yes, that’ll mess with ideas around power. Thank you, Sylvia.
Thanks. Very helpful.
thank you Patrick ... what's the prayer journey been like for you?
I also think a lot about the process/open and relational theology (and Wesleyan) idea that God woos, invites, and calls us moment by moment, or what Epperly calls the “milli-second” coming of Christ. In my occasional good moments, I am more aware of this - might this be what Paul means by pray "without ceasing?"
Gosh, i think it ("without ceasing") must be something like that... that at the edge of however we would define living and the beginning of the edge of however we would define praying are so blurred that they are one in the same.
Oh crap - now you want to make this personal. :) Thanks for the question.
A lot of what I would call my prayer life comes from “spiritual reading” - sometimes the Bible but a lot of times new books or sometimes books that I have read several times before (e.g., stuff by Nouwen or Buechner). I bought Chad Bahl’s book (The Death of Supernaturalism) a couple of months ago and tried to “speed” read it. Now I am going through it more thoughtfully. The relatively short first chapter this morning took an hour. I often read for my “head” but find that God speaks to my “heart” in ways that surprise me.
I also find my self sometimes praying for the healing of others even when I don’t know what to pray. Maxie Dunnam wrote about the use of imagination in prayers of intercession. When my mom was in the last few months of her life, I would imagine bringer her to Jesus, who would embrace her and speak to her. This was at least helpful to me.
The last couple of weeks, my wife has been struggling with complications from a root canal. She is doing much better this week but was in a lot of pain and unable to sleep most of last week. In the middle of the night I found myself praying for her in a similar way. Interestingly, I am using Bruce Epperly’s Lenten devotional in the morning. He is going through Mark’s Gospel, and many of the passages the past two week have been on healing. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not. Healing is coming to my wife that included another visit to the endodontist, salt water rinses, and over the counter pain meds.
Haha, sorry to make it personal!
I relate to all of this. A lot. Reading (and I'd throw podcast listening in there, too) is a way that I pray. Honestly, I even approach the reading and listening that way sometimes, as I imagine communing with the divine in these ways.
And yes, thank you for mentioning 'imagination.' Many many days, that is what I am doing when I pray. I imagine someone in my mind. Then I imagine love. Then I smash the whole thing together. Haha. Very scientific.
Thank you.
Ah, yes. That awakening is a beautiful thing. I find it hard to pray in words these days -- not because my God is too small but because my God is so big. One great benefit -- prayer can happen anywhere, anytime. Often starts with awe...