Christian Kossacks and Friends: Pray With Me?
Sat Sep 10, 2005 at 06:02:59 PM PDT
Tomorrow morning at 8:46 AM EDT there will be a national
moment of silence to commemorate 9/11. I would like to propose that we hijack it.
Not in any vocal way, but to God.
Last year a number of us agreed to pray at the same time before the Bush-Kerry debates, and we did just that (hey, Kerry kicked Bush's ass in the debates if you've forgotten).
I'd like to ask that anyone here of any religious background open ourselves in prayer tomorrow morning at that time. We can do that by observing a moment of inner silence where we commune with God. Christians call this "centering prayer" while other traditions have other names for it. Even non-theists practice this form of prayer, or meditation.
In my tradition we say that God already knows what lies in your heart, so you don't need to find the perfect words. Instead, we can focus our
intent. If you have something you want to verbally express to God, you could perhaps start at 8:45 to get your mind in the game. But it's all good.
So what exactly are we praying for, you ask? A few things.
Truth. There will be many people opening themselves to God around the nation at that exact same moment, including many who have committed their hearts to an ideology of hate. We can pray for God's Truth to overwhelm and cleanse everyone (including us) who calls on God tomorrow morning.
Strength. This is my Father's world, O let me ne'er forget, That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. We can pray for the strength of Samson to bring the temple of the false gods tumbling down. We can pray for the strength to continue in the face of the overwhelming heartbreak that is the ruin of our nation, and bring restoration.
Peace. We pray for peace for all lands, for our land, and for our hearts that are so easily filled with rage and outrage in these dark times. We remember that in God's vocabulary peace is not an abstract concept or absence of conflict, it is an active, living word.
Justice. We pray for God's justice to be done, for men of evil to repent or be brought to account. Most of all we pray for our society to be transformed into one where all people can participate in God's abundance, all are treated with dignity, and all can experience the joyful life intended for God's children.
If you don't make it exactly at 8:46 EDT, do it anyway. (I'll be on my way to worship, so it'll be tight.) Don't sweat it - God is eternal remember? So just cast your prayers back to the moment and join us.
I've found this practice of centering prayer to be very powerful at important moments. This is especially true when done in a group with unity of intent. I hope you'll join me. Again, if you're more comfortable with standard prayer or whatever your tradition practices, please join us with that.
Peace and Love.
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