Intending What God Intends


In my last blog post, I made the statement that if you can talk, you can pray. I need to expand that. If you can think, you can pray. The quote on my office wall to which I referred (“Prayer is that part of the Will of God that requires the vehicle of human speech in order to be manifested in the world”) should not be construed to mean that actual vocalization is required for the act of prayer. Not everyone can speak vocally. Many prayers are, in fact silent. What is significant for prayer to be prayer is the formulation and expression of intention.

In my study of the various religions and expressions of spirituality around the world, I have been struck by how often this notion of expressing an intention recurs. It seems to be a universal aspect of human spiritual practice. It is rooted in the ordinary form of well-wishing we extend to one another: “Good Luck!” “I hope you have a good trip.” “Have a great day.” “Happy Birthday!” “God bless you.” “Get well.”

All of these express a general desire for the well-being of another person. Prayer cranks this intention to a higher level. Truly effective prayer is aligned with the Will of God, and serves as a conduit for it to be made real in human experience. In essence, prayer serves to express God’s intention in the world.

Prayer is all about intention.

In order to be a conduit for the expression of God’s intention in the world, we need to understand clearly what that intention is. This requires a certain maturity of thought, humility of heart and rigorous honesty in order to separate our own personal desires and prejudices from the true will of God. Prayer that expresses God’s intentions for the world should reflect God’s character as best we can discern from the Biblical record and from the tradition of Christian teaching, experience and practice.

These things can be said about God’s character and intention for the world:
  • God cares for the well-being of the whole person. God is as concerned for our physical health as well as our emotional, psychological and spiritual health.
  • Repeatedly in the Bible it is stated that God cares for the widow, the orphan and the sojourner. This means that our prayers and efforts on behalf of those who are vulnerable and powerless in society are close to God’s heart.
  • God cares about how we treat one another. Our prayers should reflect kindness, gentleness, mercy, justice, and love toward others. Accordingly, a prayer that wishes harm upon another person may reflect our personal feelings, but are unlikely to be an accurate expression of God’s intention.
  • God has created the world such that we are all interconnected with one another – humans and non-humans all. Thus our prayers will affect us as much as those for whom we pray. In addition, our prayers should acknowledge how our actions affect other persons and other life forms here on earth. Thus our prayers cannot express an intention that is at odds with the well-being of other creatures or the land. This may be the hardest thing for us to recognize, but it is rooted in the proclamation that the “Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” Prayer is a form of stewardship precisely because it seeks God’s blessing upon all creation and all creatures.


 (Sources of images: http://cdn.elev8.com/files/2010/08/a-prayer-for-times-like-these.jpg;  http://www.bannersink.com/product_images/wishing-best-of-luck.jpg;  http://circleofthesacredearth.org/images/logo.jpg;   https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08q2k6kljy4kHGR6ybgj6qX9gkRcVngDgLUkRoMvDSM8qZ2NZcBIuSesCJzMpNHD9OfS5JCT3fiSHNLEemZ3z8tpckyI2Gtj0NC4TyA8uoEluIrPIhX_AQvOA9RND_t2vxl-InC5jTbM/s1600/wishing-on-a-star.png;  

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