Prayer

I don’t pray anymore. There was once a time when I did the standard Protestant prayer routine in which I thought and sometimes spoke to the Christian deity YAWEH.  I, like my Baptist peers, asked things of this deity and many times told this deity that which He should have already known.  For example, “”Dear Lord, there’’s a hurricane goin’’ on in Florida right now. Please help those folks down there who are sufferin’’ because of it.  We just ask that you make that hurricane go away.””  First of all, did I need to inform the all-knowing deity about the goings-on in Florida?  Did He not already know?  Second, why would I need to instruct/petition this deity to help the people in Florida who were experiencing the hurricane?  Is this deity not compassionate enough to take it upon himself to help them without being asked/told?  I finally reached a point where I found Protestant prayer to be a silly, pointless waste of time.

Anglican prayer, though a bit more intelligent sounding, was not much better.  Though there was none of that country, ad lib, addressing-the-deity talk (Anglican prayers are read out of a prayer book.), it was still basically the same informing-God-of-the-obvious-and-then-ordering-Him-around nonsense.  The standard Episcopal prayer formula consists of a statement of fact followed by a command to this God, such as:

O gracious and everliving God, you have created us male and female in your image: Look mercifully upon this man and this woman who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

– The Book of Common Prayer, p. 425

I found this type of prayer to be pointless also.

The closest I can come to prayer is a morning mental recitation of what I refer to as The Path of the Sage. It goes like this:

1. Today I will walk the path of the sage.
2. I will be thankful for and content with all that I have; and I will remember my obligation to assist those in need.
3. I will recognize and contemplate:
   • the urges and instincts of the id
   • the methods through which the ego seeks to carry out the will of the id
   • the negative karma that results from compliance with the schemes of the ego
   • the positive karma that results from acting in accordance with the wisdom of the superego
4. I will recognize and contemplate the impermanent, unsatisfactory, insubstantial nature of attachment and desire.
5. I will accept the present moment without ego-influenced reactions.

I guess some folks who read this might not like it, but that’s just how it is I guess.

About Professor Twist

I'm just a regular guy who likes to write about that which I find interesting. I am keeping my identity undisclosed because I am a small business owner and am well known in the community I serve.