Why Pray?

 Last week we considered how we have outgrown some of our early concepts of God as a superhuman, or invisible parent figure residing somewhere ‘off in the heavens’. This sets the stage for us to grow our understanding of the Divine, from “a person to a Power” as Rev. Linda Martella- Whitsett puts it, in her book, How To Prayer Without Talking to God.

Freed from the limits of personhood, it becomes easier to conceive of the fullness of this Power, as Divine Intelligence and Creative Energy through which all of creation exists. 

While this expanded understanding of God tends to occur naturally, as we seek a God that we can believe in and connect with more authentically, the corresponding update to the practice and purpose of prayer often lags behind.

Replacing the images and concepts of the God of our youth tends to require new vocabulary that better reflects the full nature of the Divine and acknowledges our inherent connection with It.  The words we use and the thoughts that we hold in prayer can begin to feel incongruent with our expanded understanding of Divine Nature. This can feel confusing or make us doubt purpose of prayer all together.

If we are all expressions of Divine Intelligence, why do we need to pray at all?  

"All reasons for prayer can be distilled down to one: We pray to claim and assert our Divine Identity so that we can live more fully from it. We pray so that we may embody Divine Nature” (Martella-Whitsett, 2011, p. 34).

The illuminating Truth of Oneness is inspiring and compels us to discover our own Divine Identity as the remedy for that persistent perception of separation. Oneness reveals that separation only exists in our mind.   We literally “live and move and have our being” in Divine Life. Not only in It, but as It. This is the Truth that we seek to claim and identify with in prayer.

All that we can imagine Divine Nature to be, is what we are. Contained for now, inside of this human vessel.  As we identify with our Divine Essence, we experience a sense of freedom from the limits of our personal identity. Just as we freed God, we free ourselves from the confines of our physical body and personality, in order to more fully fathom this awe-inspiring Divine Presence- as omnipresence, everywhere present. Starting with knowing and claiming that Presence within us.

We can also conceive of Divine Nature as omniscience. “It’s not as though God is a person holding the key to all knowledge. Knowledge itself, is divine. The capacity to know is divine" (Martella-Whitsett, 2011, p. 37).

Expanding from a person to a Power supports our understanding of Divine Nature as omnipotence. Not a being using power for, or against us, but the essence of power itself.  We come to know and express this as ‘spiritual confidence and courageous action…[the power we experience as] mastery over thoughts, also known as spiritual transformation” (Martella-Whitsett, 2011, p. 37).

Growing our concept of God is an opening to really contemplate ALL that we can imagine Divine Nature to be. Then, we can recognize and claim that It resides within us; comprising our own Divine Nature.

This is where affirmative prayer begins. We focus our mind on the fullness of Divine Nature and claim it as our own! Affirmative prayer shifts from praying to something outside of u,s to praying from our growing awareness of Divine Nature.

Regardless of what we are praying for, Divine Mind holds the fullness of all possibilities. Affirmative prayer helps us align our mind with that fullness.

 Rev. Linda encourages us to contemplate these questions:

• To what degree does praying in a traditional fashion support or detract from your growing awareness of your Divine Identity?
• What do you know about Divine Nature (the nature of God)?
• What do you know about your True Nature?

Join us Sunday at 10am as we continue this exploration.

[1] Martella-Whitsett, L. (2011). How To Prayer WIthout Talking to God. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing.