Mystic Mantra: God's with me
It is in God's very nature to be always close to us.
After a rather long session of morning meditation and prayer, the disciple asked the Master, “Is God nearer to me now after this long session of prayer?” In his typical style the master put a counter question to the disciple. “Tell me, will the sun rise tomorrow morning because you have prayed long today?” Replied the disciple, “Not at all Master. The sun will rise anyway, as it is in its very nature”. “Right”, said the master. “It is in God’s very nature to be always close to us, whether or not we pray”. Perplexed, the disciple asked, “Master, do you mean to say that our prayers then actually make no difference”? Replied the master, “Don’t jump to conclusion, my son. Just as only when you wake up in the morning early enough are you able to see the sun rising, so also only the praying person experiences God’s closeness”.
It is no wonder then that many of us treat our prayer like the young disciple. Prayer for us is that which should produce some kind of effect in our life. It is often measured like money, producing which and depending on its value, one is capable of buying a needed object. But is God a shopkeeper who should fulfil our desire based on the amount of time and number of words we use while praying?
It is also in this sense that Jesus taught his disciples, “When you are praying, don’t say meaningless things like the unbelievers do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” Following that then Jesus gave them a very simple formula to use while praying: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name; May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”.
It is my belief that God does not require us to use bombastic and numerous words and keep repeating to him our needs. The time should, however, be used to try and understand what God’s plan for me is. Such prayer and meditation can help us not only in our self-awareness helping us shed the negative things from our life but also help us experience God’s closeness.
That could then lead us to pray with the Psalmist, “The Lord my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters; He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths, for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…”
Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religion, can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com