Faith forum

It’s discouraging to pray to God when I’m unable to discern any kind of response. Why should I continue … what is the purpose of prayer?

Divine voice that lies within

The Rev. Emilee Dawn Whitehurst, First Presbyterian Church associate pastor for college ministry and adult education: I would hate to be a spiritual impostor, so let me first say that I find prayer to be a terribly difficult discipline to cultivate.

Let me also confess that in prayer, I have felt foolish, discouraged and ignored. And yet, sharing silence with God has given me peace and strength when nothing else could. That said, I offer to you what I have so far found to be true.

The greatest impediment to a rich prayer life is the premise that God exists only outside us. If, in prayer, we find ourselves simply turning to a big guy up in the sky, then prayer becomes at best a one-sided conversation and at worst a spiritual dead end. The Christian tradition claims that, because Jesus perfectly embodied both the human and the divine, so too can every human being experience God’s incarnate, indwelling presence.

If the God of love lives in us, then prayer is not about discerning a response from without but rather listening to the divine voice that lies within. It can feel terrifying to abandon the notion of a God up above who directs events in our life according to our most urgent pleas. I still feel that terror every time I sit down to pray and hear only silence. But, with grace and patience, you will find beneath that silence an infinitely deep pool of wisdom and love just waiting to be tapped. For, as Jesus promised, the kingdom of God lies within you. (Luke 17:21)

  • Send e-mail to the Rev. Emilee Dawn Whitehurst at fpcassociate@sunflower.com
  • Send your questions about faith and spiritual issues for one of our religious columnists to Jim Baker at the Lawrence Journal-World, 645 N.H., Lawrence, Kan., 66044; e-mail to jbaker@ljworld.com; or fax to (785) 843-4512.

Creating Godly world

Rabbi Scott White, spiritual leader of Lawrence Jewish Community Center: In Jewish teachings, God is the source of absolute value. Prayer is turning to God to inspire our efforts to create a Godly world, which functions according to absolute values, in particular, of justice and mercy.

Hebrew for “to pray” is “le-hit-pa-lel” and means, literally, to reflect upon oneself. Prayer is how we both animate and measure our striving to build a world in which God’s presence can be felt at all times and in all places. Yes, that objective is difficult; usually it seems impossible. But long ago Rabbi Tarfon observed that, although it is not ours to complete the task, we are not free to desist from its pursuit.

The Babylonian Talmud poses the rhetorical question: “What does Scripture mean when it says (Deuteronomy 13:5) ‘You shall follow the Lord your God?'” Its answer: “It means to follow God’s attributes. The Bible tells of God clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and comforting the mourner. So too should you clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the sick and comfort the mourner.” Likewise, as the biblical record shows God punishing the wicked, so too must we in like measure.

When our prayers are directed toward tapping the divine spirit of striving to build a godly world, a world that functions according the God’s measure of mercy and justice, then we connect with God. In terms of your question, it might be said that this type of prayer has its own, built-in divine response, insofar as harnessing ourselves to God’s spirit through prayer entails communing with God.