PRAYER IS LIKE A TRICYCLE

One wheel is thanking God.

When someone gives us a thoughtful gift or does something very kind for us, we are touched. Moved. We want them to know we feel a deep sense of gratitude, so we do what comes naturally; we thank them. When we experience what we call blessing or goodness or abundance in our lives, again, we are naturally moved to thank someone. In the context of prayer, that someone is God.

Another wheel is asking God.

When things go wrong in our lives or we learn of a pressing need (e.g. for physical, relational, or emotional healing) felt by someone we love we often turn to God in prayer. To do so comes naturally, in part, because many of us were taught to ask God for help in our earliest bedtime prayers…and we’ve never stopped asking! This is good. Even Jesus taught his disciples to do so using the most famous biblical prayer of all…the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).

These two wheels of prayer are critical and valuable. But there’s one more…listening to God. And this isn’t the kind of listening where we do it just long enough to think of our response or rebuttal to what we're hearing. This is listening without an agenda.

Virtually all religions include this third wheel of prayer. People have different names for it (contemplation, centering prayer, meditation, reflection time, etc.), but what name we assign to it is far less important than what it is!

Because it’s so different from the first two wheels of prayer, this one takes some practice. And, if you’re not already doing this, it’s understandable. To carve a niche out of our in our already-full lives to listen attentively for God may seem impossible, if not a little crazy. But seriously, what do you have to lose? And who knows? You may be delightfully surprised and moved by the experience. Further, the ensuing spiritual adventure may give you new-found perspective and courage to rethink some parts of your life that may not be working so well. Even 15 -20 minutes a day for a week can begin to open our eyes to a wonderfully refreshing and transforming way of navigating the complexity of life...as well as discovering brand new ways of making a difference in the world.

Most of all, you’ll begin to experience what it’s like to move through life on the wheels of a truly personal and life-transforming relationship with God.

"Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. (Psalm 119:12 NRSV)