ONE DISCIPLINE. . .PRAYER. . .

Discipline = an activity that helps one develop one’s capacity.  Given this definition, ‘discipline’ is ‘neutral’ and becomes nurturing or depleting depending in large part upon what we choose and what we choose to do over and over and over.  Aristotle noted that we become our habits and so it is with ‘discipline’ – if a certain ‘discipline’ is habitual then over time we integrate it so that it can actually become ‘second nature’ to us.

I am a pre-cradle Roman Catholic; I write ‘pre-cradle’ because I was baptized while I was in the delivery room for I was frail, sickly and not expected to live (surprise!).  I learned to ‘pray’ early in life and prayer became a ritual (not a discipline).  When I was 18 years old I spent a year in a Monastery and that is where I was introduced to the ‘discipline’ of prayer.

Prayer = a devout petition to an object of worship; a spiritual communion with an object of worship.  For some the ‘object of worship’ is a transcendent being; for some it is truly an ‘object’ – e.g. money – that is worshiped.  We petition these via our prayers and we can also seek a ‘spiritual communion’ with them.

As I noted, prior to entering the Monastery, my prayers were primarily ‘ritual’ in nature.  I prayed when I awoke, I prayed prior to breakfast, from the age of 6 on I attended daily mass and prayed some more, I prayed for meals, I prayed before formal games, I prayed at night and I prayed before I went to bed.  I also prayed during severe thunder storms or when someone was ill or when someone had died.  Some of my prayers were prayers of ‘thanksgiving’ but most of them, as I recall, were prayers of petition or ‘begging.’

My time in the Monastery transformed my idea of prayer [Transformation = a fundamental change] – Now I need to be clear: I still offer prayers of petition and I am really good when it comes to ‘begging’ prayers; I have not changed my habit when it comes to these two types of prayers.

What changed for me was that prayer went from being a ‘ritual’ to a ‘discipline.’  In addition, I learned the power of the prayer of thanksgiving, I learned the power of prayer as ‘conversation,’ I learned the power of prayer as ‘connection,’ and I learned the power of healing prayer.

I still pray at certain times of the day; some of these prayers can – and do at times – simply be ‘ritual’ prayer.  On good days, I catch myself and can move from ‘ritual’ prayer to ‘disciplined’ prayer [I am awake and aware of my prayer and I am intentional and purpose-full about the prayer itself].  I often prepare myself for prayer by imaging my walking with God – who shows up in a number of guises; sometimes God shows up as ‘light’ or as a wise woman, or as a man about my age, or as a breeze that is gently moving throughout the universe; sometimes God shows up as a mentor, or as a wise person that I have read about – a Socrates, for example.  I do not try and force God into a certain image; I allow God to come to me as God wishes (God is God after all and can show up as God wishes…if I allow God to do so).

There are two other prayer disciplines that I have integrated: Meditation and Lectio Divina.  These help me to slow down, to become centered in my heart and soul and they are two disciplines that I use to nurture my spirit.  I learned the discipline and the power of both during my year in the Monastery.  Few things draw me closer to understanding who I am, to having a relationship with God, and to trusting that I really do not walk alone.