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For the last few weeks, The
77% Weekly has featured the homespun and
wonderful Simple
Prayers that my friend Larry wrote. [Thank
you, thank you,
thank you, Larry — Brian.]
Fittingly, I’d like to share with you a little of
what I know about prayer and then give you some
simple, straightforward directions on how to pray.
A few notes on
prayer:
- There are actually fewer rules than you
might have presupposed with regard to prayer.
- Prayer isn’t always about
asking.
- Prayer can be about gratitude or
just having some honest time with (the) God (of your
understanding).
- Real prayer effects the
pray-er. (You don’t have to believe in an external,
active diety to pray — really.)
- You don’t even have to like your prayer
when you are done with it.
How to pray:
- Start out by naming God with whatever name
you want to use to identify that which cannot be
named: “Higher Power,” “HaShem,” “Jesus,” “Allah,”
“Jevovah,” “Tao,” “Mother,” etc. (You don’t have to
always use the same
one.)
- Pause.
- Send your active mind
to do a quick survey of how you feel, give some
attention to your physical body, your thoughts, and
your emotions.
- Breathe.
- Repeat the
name you’ve chosen for God.
- Let go of your
inner critic and just allow yourself to start
talking either aloud or in your
heart.
- Pause.
- Breathe.
- Optional:
say, “Amen.” (Amen comes from
the Hebrew root word for “faith.” It is customarily
said as an expression of
concurrence.)
The first time you do
this — if this is not something that you are used to
doing — it will feel awkward. But, as they say about
push-ups, “You only get good at ’em by doing ’em.”
The idea of directly addressing God felt like an
anathema to me for years. And, I will tell you that
when I’m “alone” and do so, I still feel goofy.
Larry’s Simple Prayers really inspired me.
And now, I’m praying — not rote Hebrew prayers, but
improvised, heart-felt prayers — more than ever before.
And, so, fittingly, let me conclude this issue of The
77% Weekly with a prayer:
God.
Thank you.
Thank you for all the many blessings in my life.
Thank you for my wife and my son.
Thank you for being with me on this journey — in my
life as a while and in this somewhat eclectic
ministry.
I’m really happy these days.
That’s it.
Thanks again.
Brian
With love,
Rabbi Brian
And, if you care to, click here
to see comments on
the streetprophets
site where this article went up last week.
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