A humanist's guide to prayer
Patricia Montley
Spring 2013
UUWorld
http://www.uuworld.org/spirit/articles/284018.shtmlI miss praying. It was comforting, calming. It gave structure to the day and provided a sense of purpose.
Prayer of praise and thanksgiving offered a way of showing
appreciation for the wonders of the natural world.
Prayer of contrition let me
atone for my faults and reminded me what I needed to work on.
Prayer of supplication was a way of giving to those in need, of
doing something about situations that left me otherwise helpless. ...
...In
The Energy of Prayer, Thich Nhat Hanh says that when Buddhists pray, they are praying both to themselves and to what is outside themselves, that there is no distinction between the pray-er and the pray-ee—they are of the same substance. He says that when we practice mindful meditation and send our energy to someone who is in need, that transmission of energy is a form of prayer.
...So perhaps it is possible, even for an atheist, to promise a friend in need, “I’ll pray for you,” and then deliver on that promise by sitting in meditation, mindfully sending helpful, healing energy to that friend.
...Remember the story in the book of
Exodus in which God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush? Moses asks, “Who are you? What is your name?” The answer comes back: “I am who I am.”
I am who I am. What if
“god” is all that is? What if
“god” is all who are?
Blessed be all that is! A prayerful version of Margaret Fuller’s “
I accept the universe”? Blessed be all who are! The Universalist’s prayer of inclusion?
Perhaps this—simple as it is—could be our humanist prayer:
Bless all that is.
Bless all who are.
Amen.
Alex's comment: 記得許久以前從基督新教的「成長八課」學祈禱四部曲：敬、認、感、求：敬拜、認罪、感恩、祈求。原來有人文主義的版本。讚美、感恩：頌讚大自然的奇妙；認罪：自我贖罪與改進；祈求：在無能為力的處境下伸出僅有的援手。
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