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When We Think About Prayer
JoAnne Chapman |
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When we think about prayer many images come to mind. We think of our worship with the congregation on Sunday mornings, with the familiar liturgy and hymns. This communal experience helps many of us to center ourselves spiritually and regroup to face the world for another week. We think of our solitary times of quiet study and reflection. We also think of the personal prayers we utter on the run as we go through our days—prayers of thanks, for help, intercessions, and plaintive requests that God would set the world right.
Many of our prayers give us impulse for further action. Besides our prayerful intercession for someone who is suffering we will make sure to call or write them with our message of caring. We may bring them food, visit them in the hospital, or find another way to help them cope. Because we are praying for reconciliation in the world we are moved to address injustices as we meet them. Our prayers raise our consciousness, and we speak out the next time we encounter careless words and actions. Paul exhorts us in I Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances.” Our daily work can be our prayers turned into action. In all things we do we can be mindfully living out our Baptismal Covenant. Sometimes it may be glorious, and sometimes it may be just putting one foot in front of the other. In our quest for reconciliation, the action of continuing to meet with those who disagree with us, or who have hurt us in some way, can only be a prayerful act. Many people have experimented with keeping a thankfulness journal for a period of time. This can be a life-changing experience as we become more mindful of our gratitude for God’s blessings. We are moved to become more hospitable and less attached to the things we consider “ours.” When we acknowledge how awestruck we are by God’s grace, we can only turn back to the world with a more gracious heart. The United Thank Offering gives us an opportunity to turn our prayers of thanks into action. By contributing to the offering we unite our thankfulness with that of many others throughout The Episcopal Church. The offering is turned into grants that address compelling human need and expand the mission and ministry of the church. The resulting actions have been felt around the world since 1889. JoAnne Chapman, UTO Coordinator 2006 |