There is no one way to prayer.

I think this is the fourth or fifth time I've tried to implement this blog. I find it kind of funny that I keep trying and yet, the blog falls to the wayside. But this week I had all of these thoughts about what my purpose is and what really I should be doing. Maybe it's a pre-midlife crisis or maybe I'm just starting to get it.  Not a "I know what I should do..." like change careers or take the family up from Minnesota and move to Fiji.  More of those, ah-ha moments where you go through an experience and at the moment, you don't get it. But then, a little later, you do.

Here's an example.

There is no one way to prayer.

Our family, just before dinner rolls a little prayer cube. On that cubeare several different prayers. Some are more traditional and others are fairly contemporary. Devlin is currently in charge of rolling, but sometimes his roll, is more of a direct selection of "that one." Either Alex or I will read it aloud and we say amen. It's a great start to a family dinner.

One day I heard a comment, "Do you want to pray the right way?" I couldn't figure out until a few days ago what God was telling me through the noise of what that person had said. For the longest time I was frustrated by it, but now, I shrug it off and as Bob the tomato would say "Stand up for what you believe in, God will stand with you." For my own sake of writing this in the margin, there is no right way to pray. There are tons of ways to pray that are both public and private in nature. It can be something like a prayer cube, which has pre-written prayers. It can be unstructured, on the fly, prayer. It can be in the middle of the night, soaking in the tub, deep thought prayers. It can be in a flash-moment as you read an article about a child falling from the ninth floor of a building. It can be a few minutes during lunch as you read a Facebook posting that asks for prayer. It can be within your mind or spoken aloud with or without some other person present.  It can be with a stranger or someone close to you. It can be anything, anywhere, in any shape or form.

That is the best part of prayer. It is the most versatile experience that God has provided us. And frankly, for those who believe in other Gods or Spirits, they too pray to those beings. There prayers, if you listen sometime or look them up, are asking for similar help, support, guidance, or Truth, among other things. How you pray is up to you and stand up for what you believe in. If you come across a situation where you are confronted with this, remember that it isn't right or wrong to pray one way or the other. Respect that person or group. Don't judge others based on the fact that they used a prayer cube or the fact that they don't pray at all publicly. That person may be praying for you, your family, your well-being, and to your God.

So in my margins this week, I wrote, There is no right way to pray.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post. I'm hoping this will be my avenue for thoughts as I come across them in daily life.