Ponderings of the Heart

PRAYER

Lent is a wonder-filled time!!

I bet you never expected to hear those words. Lent is so often perceived as a time of sacrifice, self-denial, hardships, somber church music, repentance…need I go on?

But, what if we were able to change our perception of Lent? Instead of seeing it as all about what a bad person we each are and how we are reminded that we are “dust and to dust we shall return,” we could experience Lent as a time of healing, renewal, acceptance, and becoming who we are created to be? What if we could experience the season of Lent as a time to remember just how much we are loved by God, that God loves us so much that the Source of all creation chose to become one of us, to live with us, to show and teach us what it truly means to live life to the fullest; and, not the “fullest” the world has to offer, but the “fullest” that can only come from the One who is the Creator. What a difference this would make as we observed Lent!

We can observe Lent this way when we experience, and not only understand with our minds, that we are loved, totally, completely, without question and unconditionally by God. We can participate fully in Lent with anticipation, expectation and joy when we experience the reality that the Source of the cosmos wants to be in relationship with us, wants us to know and to be known, intimately, and not just as some far off judge, jury and warden who is just waiting to condemn and punish. We can keep the season of Lent when we understand, with both our hearts and minds, that God’s desire for us is the desire of any parent or spouse for their loved one: we want our spouse, our children to be all they can be and we want them to be happy.

As we reflected last week, the season of Lent is much bigger and much more than just what we “give up”. It is a season of becoming more by deepening our relationship with God. One of the ways we understand this happens is through prayer; therefore, during Lent we are invited to deepen our prayer, if not actually pray.

What is prayer? How are we to pray?

Many of us grew up with very simple prayers. At bedtime we would pray our “God blesses.” “God bless Momma. God bless Daddy. God bless Suzy and Bobby.” This would go on, especially if we did not want to go to bed. We also learned certain prayers: the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 come to mind. We would ask God to help us pass a spelling test we had not prepared for and for a Barbie or MP3 player at Christmas.

As we got older, we might pray for a certain person to like us or for a letter of acceptance from our preferred college.

Prayer seemed much more about getting what we wanted by changing God’s mind, convincing the Holy of Holies how good we were or making bargains of some sort or another. Prayer seemed to have little to do with getting to know God or sharing our life with God, other than expressing our needs or wants.

Prayer is more than our childish understanding. It is much more than trying to change God’s mind about the weather or the grade on a test. Prayer is making the effort to open our minds and hearts to God that leads us to a personal encounter with God in love.[1]

What a different concept than the one many of us grew up with and that we might still be practicing today. Consider this experience of prayer like the experience of being with someone you love dearly and who loves you even more. You want to be with them, to hear what is happening in their lives, what they are thinking, feeling and doing. And, they want to be with you, hearing all about your life, the superficial and the profound. Yes, you will spend time telling them about yourself, but not to manipulate or control; but, to share yourself with them because the two of you love each other dearly.

This is the relationship God desires to have with us. It is a relationship grounded in love, intimacy and trust, one for the other, God with you and you with God.

The good news is that you do not have to become a hermit, go off to a retreat center or ashram or become a monk, nun or priest. You do not have to give up your family, career, friends or the things you enjoy doing. You can deepen your relationship with God right where you are, right in the middle of your life.

How?

Here are just a few suggestions:

Set your alarm just 15 minutes early. Get up, make a cup of coffee or tea and sit in the early morning quiet inviting God to sit with you. Simply be still for 5-10 minutes aware of God’s presence.
As the weather warms, take your coffee or tea outside, listen to the birds, feel the growing warmth of the season on your skin, soak in the sunshine. Be aware that God is in all of creation and is, therefore, “speaking” to you through creation. Listen for God’s still, small voice.
As you eat your breakfast, drive to work, run errands, sit in a car pool line ask God to help you be more aware of God’s presence in you life
Perhaps you have a hobby like knitting, crocheting, building furniture, painting or reading. Be aware of God’s presence while you do what you love to do. Invite God to be with you.
Take some time at the end of your day to think back over your day. Notice the moments you allowed yourself to love and/or to be loved. Relive the experience remembering that God is love and the Source of all love.

[1] Thomas H. Green, S.J., Experiencing God: The Three Stages of Prayer (Notre Dame, IN: Ava MariaPress, 2010), 3.