In order to forget how to do something, first you have to known how to do it.
I grew up in the church and I had learned how to pray in church and in Sunday School and at home. I learned prayers that we memorized. Now there is nothing wrong with memorizing prayers. But sometimes when we memorize something it just becomes a ‘pat’ response to something. Kind of how our greetings are when we pass people on the street or as we rush out the door to go to work or wherever we’re rushing off to. How are you? Good, and you? or “I love you, see you tonight. Have a good day.” Or when you come home – “How was your day? Fine and yours? OK” Short, sweet, pat answers and sometimes there’s not a lot of thinking about what we’re saying or listening to what is being said; just thinking about where you’re going or coming from and what you need to do or did when you were there and what has to be done next.
Prayer, good prayer is like good conversation, it takes time, the words are often new and refreshing . . . but when we’re really super stressed and don’t know quite what to do, it’s different. That’s happened to me a couple times and it’s an odd feeling. I once told a nurse who told me to pray, that I didn’t know how or what to pray for. Bless her heart. She said, “Then I will pray for you.” and off she went to the Chapel. Soon after I felt a sense of calm coming over me and I was able to begin praying and pouring out my thoughts and hopes on my own. It was a stressful time and many other people were praying as well and it got us through in one piece and I think gave us all a little more peace.
There is a prayer that many of us have memorized and it just kind of gets to be a part of our prayer life without paying attention to what we are saying or asking for. I’m talking about what we have come to know as ‘The Lord’s Prayer.” In my book, Praying Our Way Through Stress http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-000587237/Praying-Our-Way-Through-Stress.aspx I reflect on The Lord’s Prayer and what I think it can teach us still today.
In the bible we’re told that Jesus said this prayer in answer to a request from his disciples. “Lord, teach us how to pray.” Have you ever asked the Lord how to pray during a certain circumstance? What happened when you did this?
