As we enter Lent, I am thinking about praying – and even doing some ! But also I am thinking about what prayer does, what its purpose is.
I think the function of prayer is to pull our lives towards God, to orientate us in the direction of wholeness. Sometimes we think about prayer much too narrowly – saying special words in a particular place. It helps me to think about prayer in broader terms – which include looking and seeing. Looking for God, for signs of his presence among us, signs of the Kingdom, waiting until we know the time is ripe for important decisions; discerning God’s will. Often I know that I cannot “see”, and yet at other times I can see. Rather like climbing a mountain in a mist. And what is most frustrating is that I am not in control of this“seeing” process, any more than I can say to the mist on the mountainside “be gone !”
I came across a wonderful piece of writing about prayer this week, and how it draws us more closely into the life of God. So I want to share that with you :
http://liturgy.slu.edu/1LentB022612/reflections_rolheiser.html
you will also find some more thoughts for Lent in my pre-prayer :
http://www.thesix.org.uk/pre-prayer.htm
Alan
