You put in enough quarters, out pops a Coke; I put in enough prayers…
Dear Friends,
In an interview with The Paris Review, memoirist Mary Karr spoke about her experience of prayer:
“Prayer lessens fear. It reduces self-consciousness, [and when I] attend [to it] I kind of forget myself. It’s strange though,” she continued, “I know [that] praying a steady hour a day would make me a happier human unit, but I don’t do it. Do you know why?”
“No,” said the interviewer.
“Me neither...”
I resonate with Karr’s sentiment. Why don’t I pray more? Undoubtedly, it has to do with laziness, distraction, and my slavish obsession with being productive, but there are also moments when I’m content, focused, and not at all bored at the thought of prayer, and I still don’t do it.
My lack of prayer probably implies a lack of faith: I don’t pray as often as I’d like because I’m afraid of being disappointed. I fear getting all excited about getting an answer only to be left hanging.
Admittedly my fear of being disappointed stems from a faulty understanding of prayer. I’m probably not alone in unconsciously believing that God is like a cosmic vending machine. You put in enough quarters, out pops a Coke; I put in enough prayers, I get what I want.
There are many texts in Scripture on prayer that should discourage us from such an impersonal understanding. Nevertheless, the overall witness of the Bible makes clear that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to pray, to petition him for what we need, to be shamelessly persistent in our engagement with him.
This Sunday’s Gospel lesson emphasizes persistence because prayer isn’t a transaction. It’s about connecting with the living God. It’s about entering into communion with a being, a person, who is always right at hand. The one who has no need of relationship, who is complete in his tri-une self, desires it anyway with you and me.
And so, may the same God who invites us into relationship with him, lessen our fears, reduce our self-consciousness, and create in us new and prayerful hearts.
Grace and Peace,
Ben
