Today I want to talk about a sensitive topic -- that's prayer. Now, a lot of people, when they hear me say the word prayer, what they really hear is the word "God."
I don't want to talk about God. This is a 10 minute podcast, we don't have enough time to talk about God. I want to talk about prayer. Because I think prayer works whether we believe in God or not. And that's because most common prayers don't ask God for change his mind, they ask our minds to change.
Two common prayers I want to look at today, both do that:
The serenity prayer:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
This prayer is asking for me to change. To have the wisdom of discernment and acceptance. Another -- the prayer of St. Francis:
Make me an instrument of peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, let me pardon;
Where there is doubt, let be bring faith
Where there is despair, let me bring hope
Where there is darkness, let me bring light
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoning
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
These prayers can be made to god, but they do not require god in order to serve their purpose for you. Don't believe me? Give it a shot. Can't hurt.
