The Process of Prayer

Words without thoughts never to heaven go...

Our act, when we pray, must not, any more than all our other acts, be
separated from the continuous act of God Himself, in which alone all finite causes operate.

I've noticed recently that my greatest times of joy in prayer have come in times of submission. In his essay "The Efficacy of Prayer," Lewis writes that "prayer is request," in the same sense that we ask favor just as we would with others. Does it follow that G-d will fulfill our request? No, of course not. For one, His mind is not the type to be 'made-up' like that. This is not to say that He follows wherever the day might lead and makes His decisions as He goes. Quite the opposite. His Will was determined before the dawn of time. His decisions, therefore, flow from the purposes of His Will.

Some may suggest that His Final Plan is in mind, but the path has yet unfolded (thus allowing room for alterations). Others believe the Plan is set, unalterable (for G-d is unchanging). I am of the persuasion that both are simultaneously true. As Lewis suggests, we have no idea if our prayers determined an outcome, because our prayers may very well have been part of that process. Much like salvation, the causal relationships between time, our actions, faith and the acts of the Holy Spirit will always contain mysteries. As my pastor said this week, "The closer you get to a spiritual paradox, the closer you are to G-d's Truth." For how can an infinite, timeless and perfect Being interact with finite, time-bound, imperfect creatures without paradox?

And, as the process of prayer unfolds in my life, I am learning that as much as I know G-d can do whatever He wants (meaning He has the power to), I do not pray thinking He will. I pray knowing I will be brought close to understanding Him and His purposes. 'For even in the very heart of the story we meet a glaring instance to the contrary. In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not.'

Is it not for our benefit that Christ uttered this prayer? Does it not show by his example that even Christ had to submit his plans to the Father's Will? And does that not bring you Hope? A gracious Hope, for certain. For when we come to Him and rest completely in His will, 'His love is ever as strong, in both sorrow and celebration.'

Many point to Christ's cry on the cross of utter despair to show that even he felt abandoned by G-d. However, in Hebrew culture, expressing the first line of a Pslam brought the whole passage to mind. So, even in Christ's darkest hour on earth, when he cried, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" he rested - in his sorrow - in the Father's Will, knowing that the rest of the Pslam speaks of Hope. For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. (Pslam 22)

So the process of prayer is submission to His will, rest in His hope, and the peace and joy that comes from knowing Him more fully.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. -Isaiah 26:3