Prayer power

My note in the newsletter for St. Luke noted that I would cover some topics related to gifts, practical gifts which God gives to us. In that article I also stated that God gives good gifts to everyone, not excluding those who don't believe in Him. The power of prayer falls into this category, just as did the power of forgiveness.

Both gifts have some inherent psychological benefits regardless of the subject of the believer's faith. Psychologists and students of human behavior over many generations have observed the benefits of belief in a higher power. Abraham Maslow's pyramid of needs placed this in the upper echelon of need fulfillment on the way toward his 'self-actualized' person. That is just one example (uh, the one I happened to gravitate toward in college, and so remembered a bit better) of belief in a higher power demonstrating benefits for individuals.

I think that the reasons this is true are pretty simple. Belief in a higher power necessarily places the believer in an inferior position in a relationship. This may not sound like a great thing, but it means that the person believes that there is a greater good out there than his or her own good. Its this kind of thinking which leads me to at least appreciate a society which would require some kind of military service to qualify to vote. Military service necessarily places one in a position to serve a greater good at the expense of self. Do that long enough and you may just consider the needs of society in general before you vote on any issue. Don't get too worked up that I wrote that! I said I appreciated the society which would consider this, not that I am pushing for it!

Okay, I think the general point was made. Now back to the power of prayer. I believe that praying places us in a position where we must acknowledge that we are the mere supplicant. We are obviously praying to a higher power, which by extension must mean that it is considering requests from others as well. It also demonstrates the belief that we are not always in control of our own situation (responsible for our actions, yes. In control of the results? No.). We must then accept the outcomes which may not be the ones we desire.

Prayer puts us in a position to handle many possible outcomes in our lives. But it also indicates a belief that we don't always know what is best for us. Not only that, but it also moves us toward the conclusion that what is best for us is not always best for others, or for all. This understanding might be considered close to a miracle revelation for a young Christian, say in their early teens, around whom the world usually revolves. It is a miracle for parents many times to witness this kind of understanding dawning on their child.

Maybe the power of prayer could be linked strongly with the notion of selflessness. I think that mature prayers necessarily have this quality. Prayer certainly matures over time for the one doing the praying. I believe that the act of prayer moves the very maturing process along at a quicker pace. Consider someone you know with a strong prayer life. If you get a chance, find out if anything I wrote is proven out or disproven by their example or experience. I would be interested in your input on this.

I have by no means exhausted the ideas floating around in my head on this topic. We'll see where that gets us the next time I write.

Peace!
John