Friday, March 24, 2006

Arrows

Perhaps you are the type of person who thinks one can't pray unless suitably stanced-reverently with hands clasped, etc. And for that and other reasons, you don't pray as much as you could.

Here are some suggestions for "prayers on the run" that have helped me loosen up and feel close to God every minute:

Arrow prayers--these are prayers you shoot to someone nearby, but don't necessarily speak to. For example, the frazzled mother in the grocery line, or the lonely old man waiting for a bus. Frank Laubach calls them "flash" or "swishing" prayers in which you throw a mantle of prayer to everyone around you. These are good when watching the news on TV, etc.

On-the-spot-prayer for the ordinary. One of my favorite things to do is to look for the sacred in very ordinary things and then say a prayer of thanks for them: Having enough money to buy gas, seeing Maddie and Ella come in the sanctuary door, walking up to someone standing alone at church and praying silently for them (that could be called a stealth prayer, I guess), seeing the yellow forsythia ringing a yard in the spring, etc.

Today, I am praying for you dear reader whoever you are.

No comments: