About prayer

Praying is the opposite of working. It is a relaxation technique

Praying is social training.

A relaxation technique

Praying is a relaxation technique. It protects you against burnout. It helps you to “get out of the hamster wheel”. Relaxation techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress response

Phodopus sungorus - Hamsterkraftwerk.jpg
By Doenertier82, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

No time for prayer?

Getting out of the hamster wheel is theoretically easy: simply reserve some time for yourself.

When I invite people to come to some prayer meeting, they usually answer with a more or less direct variant of “I am overwhelmed with projects and appointments! Why would I add year another meeting to my calendar?”

  • I have at least three prayer meetings per week in my calendar. When I add the time I spend for transportation, that’s more than one man-day per week. And I don’t miss this time because these hours give me back more energy than they require.

  • Check how much time you spend for entertainment. The entertainment industry wants you. And they are the most efficient and wily time thieves in the world. When you manage to reserve some time for yourself, you usually spend it for useless experiences that only pretend to get you out of the hamster wheel. I am often amazed to see how much money and energy people are willing to invest into relaxing. The cheapest and most efficient way to relax is a prayer meeting. I have no proof for this claim.

Glossary

to pray

To speak with God as a child speaks with her father or mother. You tell God about your observations and emotions, you listen what he answers, and you do your best to play your personal role in God’s divine plan.

prayer

A spiritual practice that includes any form of communicating with God. It can express as meditation, reading, speaking, singing, dancing, walking, painting, writing, building and others. Prayer can be practised individually or in groups.

Quotes

“You will never enjoy the sweetness of a quite prayer unless you shut your mind to all worldly desires and temporal affairs.” – St. Norbert of Xanten (1075–1134)

“We should always pray as if acting was useless, and act as if prayer wasn’t enough” – Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897)

Kaz: “Why do gods always want to be worshipped in high places?”
Inej: “It’s men who seek grandeur. The Saints hear prayers wherever they are spoken.”
Kaz: “And answer them according to their moods?”
Inej: “What you want and what the world needs are not always in accord, Kaz. Praying and wishing are not the same thing.”
– Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom (p. 180)