Lessons In Prayer

I read a lot of books and some of them have attempted to instruct me in the art of praying. Beyond all the books I have read, I have sat through many sermons with many of the same points with different words. Regardless of how well worded these sermons or books have been, they cannot compare at all to the lessons I have learned in prayer over the past two summers.

I thought I knew a lot when I arrived May of 2006. I was so very very wrong.

For all the things that I did know, there were so many more that I didn't. I knew nothing about what it meant to be totally and completely authentic in every way. I knew very little about what it meant to be completely open in my prayers. I have learned so many things in the past two summers.

One of the core members I live with prays in a way that has inspired my prayer life a lot. He begins his prayers with two sayings. One is this: "God? God, I'm here. It's me God." The other is this: "God? God, listen to me."

There are very few times in my life that I have left myself open in a way that says simply that I am here. The past summers have taught me about being present and allowing myself to simply be in the moment. I usually spend a lot of my time worrying about what the future holds for me. I know that I shouldn't, but it is simply my way. What this man has taught me is that it is more important to be in the moment, to be present and to be able to offer myself in that way. I have gotten my lessons mostly from this man.

There have been so many other lessons in prayer, be it sharing prayer with others, or learning how to pray out loud. I have changed so much in my outer life this summer, that it shouldn't surprise me at all to find my inner life changing as well. I knew that I came to learn things, but it never occurred to me that it would change my life so drastically.

It's interesting how much you are able to take out of lessons when you are open to learning new things. I know that these lessons have changed me and they will continue to change me.