Prayer Trifecta

Prayers are very personal things.  I believe in the admonition that they are to be done privately, in quiet spaces.  I'm not against public prayer.  I just believe that private prayer can be more direct and powerful.

It is not my intent to reveal what I pray.  That, for the most part, is between me and God.  I did want to share how I end most of my verbal prayers (yes, meditative prayers with few or no words are also very important).

First, I pray that I increase my love of God.  That I love him and open my heart to be shown and led to greater love and understanding.  This spiritual connection to the force that created us all, that loves us, that binds us all, is very important.  And often difficult for us to stay grounded to in this hectic, often wicked world.  The Father, the Mother, the Parent.

Second, I pray that I will love my neighbor, that I can show love, understanding and tolerance to all of God's children.  It is so easy to harbor resentments against those that we feel do us harm, it is so easy to hold prejudice against the other, to bind only with our tribe.  So I ask to have my heart opened to all, to love everyone as I would want to be loved.  We are all God's children, and it is not our job to condemn or isolate each other.  The son, the daughter, the child.

Finally, I pray that I will do everything that I can to make this a better world.   To do what I can to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth, where it is meant to be, where it stands before us if we only are willing to see it and work for it.  God is not showing us the back of his hand, and telling us to just wait while he does the work.  He is saying to us, "Come, take my hand.  Remove the scales from your eyes and let me show you what we can do together."  Whether it is extending your hand personally to someone in need, or joining forces with others to make things better, it is putting caring into action that is the key.  The Holy Spirit, the breath of life, the power of love.

These are easy to say.  They seem simplistic and straightforward to put in place.  But they are much easier to say than to practice.  I constantly fall short.  But that does not stop me from trying. It does not stop me from praying.  Every night. Quietly.

And I am heard.

And I am not alone.