elie wiesel, a jewish scholar and holocaust survivor, tells us why we should pray. he starts off with a very human-centric account: we need to pray “because it does something to us”, and “we must teach each other how to pray”. but, after ruminating on the tension between our debt to God and our expectation of life, he, at times beautifully, describes the resonance, the power, the meaning of prayer: “prayer means being alive, moving toward life [… it] is in the fullest sense and act of faith.”
we part ways for a little while when he downplays God’s influence on our words: “in matters of Torah [law], everything has already been said by Moses or said to Moses — but not the prayer. as we repeat a certain prayer, we identify with its altar and recreate it over and over, and everyone can and must give birth to his or her own prayer.” in the christian tradition, the power of the Christ came in his providing that prayer: “this, then, is how you should pray” (matthew 6:9). to recast wiesel’s words, then: ‘as we repeat that prayer, we identify with the one who gave himself up on the altar… prayer means being alive, moving toward Christ.’ reminding myself of his sacrifice is a mainstay of a healthy christian walk.
parted ways aside, though, the article helped me to appreciate the legitimacy of human need — and not only divine desire — in the importance of prayer. of course, for the christian and the jew, the Lord is deserving of all praise and glory. the westminster shorter catechism instructed me of this as a 5 year old — “man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever” — and revelations 4:11 reminds that “you are worthy, o Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.” but, why does he have us pray, where we struggle and squirm, lose focus, regain it, lose it again, finish tired and frustrated? it seems so trite (and its connotations so wrong) in a megalomaniacal culture, but prayer really does help us! in God’s provision, he’s provided prayer as a means of understanding, of humbling, and of providing peace (i’ll save the list of physiological benefits and studies of health benefits of prayer for another post).
October 5th, 2006 at 6:08 am
Yeah, I agree…I think most clearly after reading God’s word, praying, and meditating. I think prayer affirms our creatureliness; it represents so much of the Gospel story too. We can pray because of God’s original special grace and now we freely kneel in expectation of God’s future blessings and revelations. Prayer shows who we truly are in light of who He is. Oh snap…I’ve got to lesson plan for an 8am class tomorrow…..