Prayer for YOU...

Today, I stood by my bookrack looking at of the self-help books that I had collect during a certain phase of my life, wondering what would make a good reference for Lumpy to read. Then I paused, smiled at myself remembered the FRIEND that choose to help me during my difficult times and that friend is - A PRAYER. Prayer is nothing but an honest converstation with God. In prayer we make ourselves vulnerable to God's presence and healing power. We open ourselves up in the presence of Higher Power. Some of this intimate communication may not even include words. The deepest prayer can be a mute, speechless cry for help or protection or guidance. If we look at it - effective prayer is, by definition, from the heart. Baring our souls to God and opening our hearts to divine light is itself a cleansing experience that eases our pain and confusion and gives us a spiritual tool, establishing us to let go of old baggage, old anger, and old regrets. Prayer can be a way to cleanse the psyche and invite a deeper, more authentic life stance. However, prayer is also a mystery. By inviting God to participate in our lives and our dilemmas, we set spiritual forces in motion that may have a gradual or a dramatically sudden effect. God's influence unfolds in God's own way. Often it can be surprising and contain unexpected elements. It is important to realize from the outset that we cannot control God. The process of prayers, is not magical in which we, like conjurors, control the supernatural force thorough speaking just the right spell. Man! This is deeper, more hidden process whereby God is teaching profound life lessons as a loving parent - a spiritual friend. A prayer just connects us more intimately to this learning process. One of the distinct questions Misho put to me was "How do you see/view God?" I had a theory but after this question, I defined it more clearly for myself. Likewise, each person's views are different. Just as we emerged from our family origin with certain beliefs about marriage, gender, work, money, emotional expression, and other issues, so too did we emerge with a concept of God. Its true what all these shrinks say - our childhood plays a very important role and our belief system can elevate us both spiritually and psychologically to great heights. Prayer imprints even more deeply on the unconscious mind that is needed and desired. It enables change to occur. It evokes powerful forces, both psychological and spiritual. When we have the internal readiness to change, God provides us with the people and the contexts we need to realize that change. I think one needs to let go of archaic, family-based beliefs about God and start over. We need to begin to grow towards a more mature notion of God as a ever loving "parent" who treats us as adult children. A divine Power who is not a puppet master pulling strings, but rather a loving parent who honors our adulthood, who allows us to fall, who wishes us well, much as you would to your own. God does not "bail us out" or magically rescue us from our personal quagmires, but he does love us and is present if we allow ourselves to feel him, to sense him, to know him and its through HIS ways that he proves his love for us - which only benifits us. So I guess, the only essential ingredients of potent prayer, I can offer my Lumpy friend are - Vulnerability, Sincerity and Honesty.