Brother Lawrence a medieval Catholic saint said that prayer is establishing in ourselves “a sense of God’s presence by continually conversing with him.” In the tradition of the great Christian mystics, prayer is practicing the presence of God. As in the book of Revelation, the Church, here and now, is the Great White robed throng standing before the Altar of God. At the very least, we are always in the procession to the throne, every minute of every day. Jeremy Taylor, an Anglican, said prayer is making “frequent colloquies, or short discoursings, between God and thy own soul.” Prayer is not a magic way of getting things our way without fulfilling the conditions. God is not our servant we are his. Jesus Himself prayed, frequently, on the road as well as in the temple or in the Garden. Harry Emerson Fosdick, a great preacher of the last century said shortly after WWII, “A century ago uranium was defined as a “rare heavy, white metallic element. . .that has no important uses. So! Uranium had no important uses! But it has now shaken the world to its foundations, because science has released its power. Such is the task of science in the physical realm—to fulfill conditions that release power; and in the realm of the spirit that is prayer’s effect too." Prayer endeavors not to get what we want, but rather to accomplish the will of God. Jesus in Gethsemanee did not start with what he wanted, rather he started at the other end. He sought the will of God, and having found it set his face toward Jerusalem and the place of the ultimate battle between good and evil; thus allowing God and the Kingdom to win through His death, resurrection and triumphant ascension. Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Without such prayer God can never do in or for us what he wants to do. Such prayer opens the way for the free course of God’s power through his people in recreating this blasted, cursed earth. Charles+ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com