Weekly Newsletter: Pray

​Prayer is communicating with The Divine, and is often thought of in terms or our speaking to The Divine as opposed to meditating which is often thought of as listening. Consider how parents and infants communicate. Infants don’t speak, but they communicate by expressing their feelings. When they are hungry, they cry. When they are happy, they laugh and giggle. No words are exchanged but the parent hears the cry of the heart.
 
After the child begins to speak, their number one question is “Why?” They are inquisitive and want to know how the world works. Later, in the teenage years, communication seems to grind to a halt again. The child has asked its questions and has learned over the years that parents make mistakes — or at least mistakes in the eyes of the child. When this carries over into the spiritual realm, doubts arise about the existence of a divine being and also about whether The Divine is as good and loving as they have been taught. At some point — we hope — the child understands that, although the parent wasn’t perfect, the parent loved them and only wanted what was best for them.
 
By following the parent/child relationship we might also see a pattern in our spiritual development with our Divine Parent. Have we matured past the infant stage in our prayers, or do we still throw a fit when we don’t get our way? Have we matured into the stage where we asked questions and sought answers? Are we still stifled in our teen years? Or, have we come to maturity in our prayer life, recognizing The Divine loves us and only wants what is best for us?