28 July 2019
If you were down to your last $10, what would you spend it on?
I recently read a story that made me think about that.
It was about a friendless man who was down to his last $10.
Did he spend it on food? Nope.
He said that while food fills the belly, it doesn’t give you a reason to live
Did he spend it on a bed for the night? Nope.
He said, rest doesn’t give you hope.
Did he spend it on booze? Nope.
He said, drink can be a poison when consumed alone.
What do you think this man spent his last $10 on?
He spent it on a haircut. Why?
Because he said, what he needed most was to be touched,
to be cared for by someone else.
I believe that one of the reasons we pray is because of our need to be cared for,
or need to reach out beyond our own bodies and resources for help.
There is in each of us, not just the ability to imagine God,
but the hope to trust that God might actually care what happens to me, to you,
to the people we love.
Prayer is a testimony to something deep within human nature which needs to not be alone,
which acknowledges we cannot make it alone.
which searches for completion.
Prayer is not so much about miracles when we are desperate,
but connection when we are separated.
Prayer keeps us going precisely because when we pray,
we acknowledge there is more to our lives than we can see
and even understand at the moment.
In the gospel Jesus acknowledges that praying is somehow built into us.
The disciples say, everyone else prays, all other teachers have formulas.
What’s yours?
And Jesus says, “Let me teach you something about who you’re praying to.”
You’re praying to a loving parent–who knows what you really need,
the Spirit of companionship, to know you are not alone
and you never will be. Today, tomorrow, beyond the grave.
When we pray it’s because we believe that if we are not alone, we can live through anything.