Last week I was checking out the readings for Sunday, 19 October, prior to preparing my homily. All three readings pointed to the importance of prayer in our lives. The first reading from Exodus 17:8-13 tells the rather strange story of Moses praying to Yahweh that the Israelite people will be successful in their battle against the Amalekites. Moses is there with his arms being held up by Aaron and Hur, and in some ways his prayer reminded me a little of the prayers we might have prayed as children:
“God if I do this, will you do that!”
The letter to Timothy (2 Tim 3:14-4:2) probably written by a disciple of Paul, reminds us of the foundational place of scripture in our spiritual lives, and how the biblical text is so often an entry point into prayer for us. I think we can safely presume that the reference to the scriptures, is a reference to the Hebrew scriptures, and I must admit some of the psalms and readings from the Hebrew texts are a little challenging for me today when I think about what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank.
And then we have the parable of the widow, poor and marginalised, who did not cease imploring the judge to see that she was treated justly. Her perseverance persuaded the judge to listen to her (Luke 18:1-8).
As I thought about these three texts, I realised prayer is revealed as basically something we do – it can prioritise petitionary prayer. And then I think about Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus warns us against heaping up empty phrases and many words. Jesus teaches:
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words” (Matt 6:7).
So now I am asking myself is prayer about something we do or something we are. I am inclining to the view that it is something we are. I am lucky enough to live in a lovely rural setting with wonderful views of native bush, rolling hills, pasture lands, and the distant Poor Knights Islands. When we first came to Whangarei, the parish priest came to visit, and we said we thinking about not having a tabernacle in our prayer room. He replied:
“You don’t need a tabernacle, God is being revealed to you from every window.”
That is so true, I see the blackbird mums and dads in our garden finding worms and then flying back to the nest when the chicks are. I see the pukeko (swamp hen) attacking our fruit trees and veggie garden and rushing off with their spoils to the little ones down at the bottom of the paddock. I see the cows watching us and their calves attentively as I walk down the road. All such experiences are pointers as it were to a loving God who cares deeply for all creation.
As I grow older, God’s presence and absence are both very real for me. When I watch the news with its horrific coverage of Gaza, or Ukraine or Sudan. I am aware of what seems to be God’s absence, and I find myself reflecting on the absence and presence of God in my life, and in all of creation. So, in some ways, prayer today is more about how I experience God in my life, it is less about what I do. Prayer is more about God’s initiative than it is about my initiative if that makes sense.
Susan Smith RNDM is a lecturer emerita in The University of Auckland’s Department of Theology. Her PhD was on developments in Catholic missiology after Vatican II. After her retirement from The University of Auckland, Susan also provided NT modules for the University of Newcastle, Australia, and a Women in Leadership module for Duquesne University. Susan lives with another member of her congregation in Whangarei, New Zealand, where both are committed to exploring experientially what it means to live in an eco-community. Both are involved in neighborhood environment organizations. They are particularly interested in what might shape eco-spiritualities in New Zealand.
Thank you for this beautiful reflection on prayer. I am struck by your question: “is prayer about something we do or something we are?” With you, I also am inclining to the view that it is something we are. And God, shining forth in all creation, inviting me to recognize God’s presence all about me.
What a comforting phrase to remind us that God is everywhere.
”God is being revealed to you from every window.”