"P-R-A-Y"*
*Reverend Dr. Bill Jenkins' Pastorgraph
Post 76
Right off the bat, I want to credit Dr. Bill Jenkins for the inspiration behind this edition's topic of Prayer. From the Christ United Methodist Ministry Center website www.christsd.com, Dr. Jenkins wrote last spring, within his weekly Pastorgraph column, a reminder of just what the activity of prayer should contain. And yes, that's right: the activity of prayer. In other words, to be involved in prayer is to be actively engaged in prayer. Our mouths can recite prayers but our minds and emotions may not necessarily participate while speaking the words.
Here - according to Dr. Jenkins - is a helpful model to follow in order to deepen one's prayer life:
"P = PAUSE" As we pause before entering into prayer, we can remind ourselves that this is a holy time of conversation between the Divine and ourselves. In other words, for what is about to happen within our prayer time, we need to get ready! Again, in prayer, we are entering The Holy.
"R = RESPECT" Now we give God the credit - in great thanksgiving - for our many blessings. Our appreciation is expressed for the small and large ... for the unnoticed and obvious alike. Simply put, we thank God; and gratitude becomes a framework for our prayer.
"A = ASK" We lift petitions to our Creator, our Higher Power, our God. We ask ... for others we know and don't know; we ask without limit to size; we ask - yes - for ourselves too. It's most important for us to know and believe that God wants to hear from us ... and God's response will be God's response within Divine will.
"Y = YEILD" As we wait for God's answer, we listen. In time, as we yield and meditate, we may hear more of what to pray. Accordingly, our praying within Divine will shall call for and, hopefully, bring forth new (and perhaps, unexpected) responses from us.
Why this topic of prayer for November? As I viewed Norman Rockwell's famous Thanksgiving painting depicting a tableful of jovial and happy-looking folks, his other table-setting picture came to mind. There in the midst of onlookers sat an elder woman and young boy with heads bowed at the restaurant table. The other patrons' expressions ranged from budding awe to simple curiosity. This was a normal time of prayer ... regardless of an audience. Indeed, the concept of prayer can be viewed in many ways - from a once/year blessing at Thanksgiving to a daily pray-without-ceasing practice.
Last week, during our American Board Clergy /Lay Ministers Certification Trainings in Lexington, I stressed we as faith leaders need to be aware of varying attitudes of prayer. Particularly, many who are overwhelmed by gambling addiction do not feel that they are worthy of being prayed for and also, that they are not worthy of being pray-ors themselves. It is essential that we as faith-based leaders encourage both problem gamblers and their loved ones to know that, indeed, God does care for them and again, God wants to hear from them. The healing begins as Step 2 describes, we "came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to a normal way of thinking and living."
May you experience blessed thanksgivings each day of the year!
Blessings,
Rev. Janet Jacobs
Founding Director
Gambling Recovery Ministries
For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues, visit www.grmumc.org .
For more on the Twelve Steps, go to www.gamblersanonymous.org and www.gam-anon.org .
