{"id":607,"date":"2019-04-10T13:42:34","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T18:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/?p=607"},"modified":"2019-04-16T19:35:34","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T00:35:34","slug":"praying-as-if","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/","title":{"rendered":"PRAYING AS IF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

For many, prayer is a problem. There may be an inescapable sense that one is not being sincere. Perhaps it is assumed that the very starting point of prayer is faith, and faith is apparently lacking. The language of prayers may seem outdated, even false. They don\u2019t answer me and I have difficulty speaking them. My mind may be in a state of skepticism, doubt, even argument. What\u2019s the point of prayer? Is it just false consolation? A dream? Self-delusion?<\/p>\n

In this condition, how is it possible to begin? First of all, there is the incipient desire to pray, in spite of all, and in this wish may be found a way. Honoring this small but honestly felt desire, we can begin to pray as if<\/em> we believe. The swarming, stinging wasps of doubt and hesitation for all manner of reasons can be calmed and settled down by the willingness to undertake prayer as a conditional experiment. We can begin to pray as if<\/em>, and in so doing, open the door to the only thing that convinces\u2014our own experience.<\/p>\n

As long as we hold back because we are not ready, not able, not sincere, not a believer, we lock ourselves out of the very realm that can make us more ready, make us more able, more\u00a0 sincere, and less doubtful. Because the Lord\u2019s Prayer comes to us from Christ as Teacher, as Master, it comes from the heart of God, and speaks directly to us.<\/p>\n

Orthodox priest Alexander Schmemman wrote that the Lord\u2019s Prayer is always addressed to each of us personally anew, meets us in all our needs, and yet at the same time \u201cit remains eternal and unchanging in its essence, always calling us to what is most important, to the ultimate to the highest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s Prayer has the unique capability of making our conditional praying\u2013our praying as if<\/em>\u2013possible and fruitful. Once we let down our guard, we find no deep resistance. It feels true. It is meant for each one of us, and it does speak to each one of us. When listened to attentively, the Lord\u2019s Prayer leads us, and we become able to follow.<\/p>\n

We experience for ourselves with humility the truth expressed by the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins: \u201cThe conceiving even of the wish is prayer in God\u2019s eyes\u2026correspondence on our side is not so much corresponding as the wish to correspond, and this least sigh of desire, this one aspiration, is the life and spirit of the human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a way to begin for everyone who feels the wish to begin. Even when we start with a conditional, as-if prayer, it is not false. The unconditional prayer is soon revealed, and the way ahead slowly disclosed.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many, prayer is a problem. There may be an inescapable sense that one is not being sincere. Perhaps it is assumed that the very starting point of prayer is faith, and faith is apparently lacking. The language of prayers may seem outdated, even false. They don\u2019t answer me and I have difficulty speaking them. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4027,"featured_media":613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPRAYING AS IF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For many, prayer is a problem.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PRAYING AS IF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For many, prayer is a problem.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lorraine Kisly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-10T18:42:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-04-17T00:35:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1183\/2019\/04\/red-votive-e1554916715460.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lorraine Kisly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lorraine Kisly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/\",\"name\":\"PRAYING AS IF\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-10T18:42:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-17T00:35:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/#\/schema\/person\/12af083f7f104e2d83109d6141d0deb8\"},\"description\":\"For many, prayer is a problem.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/2019\/04\/10\/praying-as-if\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"PRAYING AS IF\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/\",\"name\":\"Lorraine Kisly\",\"description\":\"The Lord\u2019s Prayer as the foundation of a contemplative Christian practice\u2014and where it leads\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/#\/schema\/person\/12af083f7f104e2d83109d6141d0deb8\",\"name\":\"Lorraine Kisly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lorrainekisly\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1286b6432c7062b5b63116ddd5580340?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1286b6432c7062b5b63116ddd5580340?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Lorraine Kisly\"},\"description\":\"For many years the Editor of the quarterly journal,\u00a0Parabola: The Search for Meaning. 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