Prayer. It’s not something that we talk about very much. Especially not in a group of men. It’s a taboo topic. Men talk about sex, politics and money. But prayer? Who goes there?
Well, I want to talk about it.
I pray every day and some days I use words. It is second nature to me. Prayer is one of the ways that I ask for help, admit my mistakes and pause for a minute to consider my decisions. And when you pray for someone else or with them, it is a way to show love. For me, prayer is pretty practical. |
I pray every day and some days I use words. It is second nature to me. Prayer is one of the ways that I ask for help, admit my mistakes and pause for a minute to consider my decisions. And when you pray for someone else or with them, it is a way to show love. For me, prayer is pretty practical.
Prayer literally means to “ask until you obtain something.”
My kids do that… ask until they get what they want. Self-disclosure time, it drives me nuts. When my son wants something, he will ask again, again and again. Sometimes I lose my patience, I lose my mind.
But he’s just praying… to me. He is asking until he gets what he wants. It’s my job as a dad to teach him the difference between what he wants and what he really needs. And it also my job to teach him to be patient. Because real prayer is asking patiently.
I am well along in my career, I have been married for nearly 20 years and I have two teenagers. Yet I still have dreams… ambitions that I pray about all of the time. Prayer reminds me to be patient and that there is a process.
As an adult, sometimes we can get the idea that we should always get what we want, but prayer teaches us that not getting what we want is a good thing.
Prayer, it is about asking… about persisting… about acting… and about reflecting. It is not just a religious thing. You do it all of the time when you ask a friend for help. It is humbling to have a need, and that is a sign that you are praying. Sometimes you need more help than a friend can give you and so you look up, or you look outside of yourself. That is what faith is for me. Looking up, looking inside… because I don’t have all of the answers.
Prayer is sometimes walking, sometimes it is grabbing a hammer or another tool, or it is going to work even when your life is falling apart. |
Sometimes prayer is putting on your boots. You know, the old ones, the comfy ones where the soles are worn and the leather is frayed a little. As soon as you put your feet in, you feel comfortable. These are the boots that make you forget that you are walking and you just get down to what you need to do. Prayer is sometimes walking, sometimes it is grabbing a hammer or another tool, or it is going to work even when your life is falling apart.
But persisting, we are praying. We are living a declaration that we believe that life will be better… that we are more than this present moment.
In my books, prayer is not a weakness. It makes you a better man to persist at what is important to you. You may need to pray by asking or to pray by acting. However you pray, it will change you.
If you enjoyed this article, you will want to check out some of my other writing:
How Superman Saved Me from Giving Up on God
Healing and the Spirituality of a Tattoo
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The post Are You Man Enough to Pray? appeared first on The Good Men Project.