Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Prayer
I've always have had a hard time with prayer. When other people pray I find it hard to consentrate, even if it's just between me and them...if they pray for "too long" then I get distracted...when I pray I get side tracked and end up on a completely different topic than I originally started on...and then there's the times when I just don't pray - going days, weeks without one word to the Lord... It's been a struggle.
So naturally I would relate to a story Brennan Manning presents in his book that I'm currently reading.
A woman asked the local priest to come and pray with her father who was dying. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informaed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new assoicate at your parish," the priest replied. "When I saw the empty chair I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yea, the chair," the man said. "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the priest shut the door.
"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man, "but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it alwyas went right over my head. Finally I said to him one say in sheer frustration, 'I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer.'
"'Here' says my pastor reaching into th bottom drawer of his desk. 'Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He's a Swiss theologian. It's the best book on contempative prayer in the twentieth century.'
"Well, Father," says the man, "I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pstor and thanked him, and under my breath whispered, 'for nothin'.'
"I abondoned any attempt at prayer," he continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest, Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now.'
"So, Padre, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned home.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?"
"Yes...But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaved over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed."
How awesome is that?
I'm getting better actually with the whole prayer thing- Writing notes to God seem to be the thing for me to do now...But hopefully I'll get better at actually talking to Him...
So naturally I would relate to a story Brennan Manning presents in his book that I'm currently reading.
A woman asked the local priest to come and pray with her father who was dying. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informaed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new assoicate at your parish," the priest replied. "When I saw the empty chair I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yea, the chair," the man said. "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the priest shut the door.
"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man, "but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it alwyas went right over my head. Finally I said to him one say in sheer frustration, 'I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer.'
"'Here' says my pastor reaching into th bottom drawer of his desk. 'Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He's a Swiss theologian. It's the best book on contempative prayer in the twentieth century.'
"Well, Father," says the man, "I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pstor and thanked him, and under my breath whispered, 'for nothin'.'
"I abondoned any attempt at prayer," he continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest, Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now.'
"So, Padre, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned home.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?"
"Yes...But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaved over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed."
How awesome is that?
I'm getting better actually with the whole prayer thing- Writing notes to God seem to be the thing for me to do now...But hopefully I'll get better at actually talking to Him...
