Good Morning Digital Neighbors, ADD Irregulars, WSN Content Creators, Seeking Skeptics and dear Disciples of the Master. A bit more on prayer for this mornings musings.
One of the real things Disciples and Luke-Warmers struggle with is not seeing their prayers answered. The response between the two should be different, but it often is not. The Adversaries (The Fallen & Corrupted) want us to firmly believe that God neither loves us nor is even remotely attentive to us. They want us to believe that God is worth ignoring, discounting and just not seeking. For the Fallen, God is an empty suit, an arbitrary Being that imposes His/Their will on lesser beings in prideful glee. It is a subtle whisper, not a demonic assault or even remotely supernatural, just a thought bobble to preoccupy our mind.
Luke-Warmers will fall for it every time, because God does not bend to our will, and in doing so does not seem to answer prayers. They asked God for X and they got 0. The Luke-Warmers claim it is bullshit because they believe God is the Cosmic Skip & Fetch it Being. The relationship is so freaking bass-ackwards that it is hard to shake them out of that mindset if you ever get the chance. St. Irenaeus stated in the 2nd century: For, as much as God is in want of nothing, so much does man stand in need of fellowship with God.
There are Seekers, many I have found here, that are not Luke-Warmers and yet not declared Disciples. They may not be religious, they may not be people of faith, but they are Seeker of the Mysterium, the Luminous, the Wisdom that is behind the veil of reality & experience. I appreciate them so very much because they are aware that life, God or reality owes us nothing, but provides us with the opportunities to do and be something more than we were on hatching day. While I might hope they would seek Discipleship, I tend to not be militant about it or even pushy. I respect and appreciate that there are divergent path that eventually coalesce into whatever we humbly call the TRUTH. While I think the Gospel is the superhighway, the Master has left signs in creation that point towards Him/Them. There is a Homecoming for all of us at the end (I hope) and who was right or wrong will be irrelevant in that new state of being. There is also judgment - we are either sons & daughters of Communion or creatures of Self.
OK, back to unanswered prayers for Disciples. One of the greatest struggles for Disciples of varying maturity is the experience of unanswered prayers. This is especially the case when we pray for others who are suffering and we seek release from their suffering, healing for their pain or ease of their trials. Those are great things to seek in prayer. The Psalmist (David and other authors) often asked for deliverance, often asked if God was heedful of their prayers. Sometimes the psalms are so blunt that we feel a bit taken aback about such bluntness with God, and yet if you follow the plasm to the end is the expression of trust and reliance upon God. The Psalmist knows his/her place before God as the son or daughter seeking to trust the Divine.
For Disciples of the Incarnate One, it should be obvious (but often isn't) that the Master believes that immense good can come out of suffering, betrayal, denial, abandonment and finally death. He did not exempt Himself and we (Disciples) believe that He could have at any moment but chose not too. Buddha said life is suffering and the Master said that is where I will meet you more than anywhere else. Not because He wills suffering, but because suffering in its various forms push us to trust or betrayal. We will either hold fast to what we seek & love or we will fold. There is forgiveness after folding (ask St. Peter) but it is better for your sense of self not to fold. Pray for deliverance according to God's will and acceptance in the present moment.
Unanswered prayers for family & friends tempt us to think God is indifferent, but if we want to be an advocate for our Humble Lover of Souls, we would do well to encourage them to hold fast to trusting God. We would do well to be compassionate to our suffering loved one with real gifts of time and self. No "ought's" since those seem to set us up for failure, but doing well is something we ought to seek often if not always.
Intercession and acceptance are at the heart of prayer for Disciples and other Seekers as they long for communion with the Mysterium and their neighbor. My unanswered prayers have opened my eyes and stirred my soul to see beyond experience and to believe in goodness on the other side of trials. I know this to be true and try my best not to forget it.
HOLY MOLEY - diarrhea of the mouth this morning - thanks for sticking with me if you managed to do it.
