Emerson complains that mainstream prayer practices are petty and self-serving. He also complains that they presuppose a patron-client relationship with God. People often use prayer as an opportunity to act or beg God for a favor. Emerson sees prayer as a letter asking an external benefactor for outside help:
Prayer looks abroad and asks for some foreign addition to come through some foreign virtue.
This sharply contrasts with Emerson's ideas of what true prayer should...
Emerson complains that mainstream prayer practices are petty and self-serving. He also complains that they presuppose a patron-client relationship with God. People often use prayer as an opportunity to act or beg God for a favor. Emerson sees prayer as a letter asking an external benefactor for outside help:
Prayer looks abroad and asks for some foreign addition to come through some foreign virtue.
This sharply contrasts with Emerson's ideas of what true prayer should be:
Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul. It is the spirit of God pronouncing his works good.
If we unpack Emerson's words, we find several points. First, true prayer isn't supposed to be about registering personal dissatisfaction and asking for a remedy. It's supposed to be about contemplating the big picture and rising above one's immediate circumstances to appreciate the excellence of God's works in general. It's supposed to be an expression of joyful approval, not a letter of complaint or plea for help.
Second, the whole notion of God as a separate entity is wrong. When we pray, we should be turning inward to the part of ourselves that is part of God. We share God's spirit, see things from God's point of view, and rejoice in creation.
The common approach to prayer is entirely off the mark. It separates human beings from the spirit of God, and turns prayer into a petition for a bail-out.
No comments:
Post a Comment