tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post3845440349363003240..comments2024-03-25T13:40:30.747-04:00Comments on Faith and Theology: On prayer: fourteen thesesBen Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03800127501735910966noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-16393363453685570642011-04-11T23:10:01.170-04:002011-04-11T23:10:01.170-04:00brilliant. absolutely, poetically, brilliant. than...brilliant. absolutely, poetically, brilliant. thank you.Mommy Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09989213786947802537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-37541650603787169702011-03-24T08:52:21.169-04:002011-03-24T08:52:21.169-04:00Three thoughts: (well - two thoughts and a story)
...Three thoughts: (well - two thoughts and a story)<br /><br />Prayer is more than just having friends in high places - it is discovering you have a friend in low places.<br /><br />I have always liked the portrayal of prayer in "Fiddler on the Roof". Tevye chats with God about the mundane and weighty thoughts as they cross his mind and sometimes even stands apart to talk more seriously. I feel there isn't a time when he is not in touch with God. He knows how to get around his wife but God - He is a different matter.<br /><br />Have you heard the 'Bullocky's Prayer'?<br />(Bullocky - a driver of a bullock team in earlier Australian times - similar to the modern lorry or semi-trailer driver and similarly famed for rough language)<br />This particular day our bullock waggon was bogged to the axles in a muddy patch of road and despite the combined efforts of some 20 bullocks, a long heavy whip and a cubic mile of atmosphere turned blue with profanity nothing could coax the waggon nor it's 20 ton load of wool from the quagmire.<br />Enter the Parson on horseback "Have you tried praying my son?"<br />"I've tried every *&($@&* thing else" was the reply.<br />With that, he doffed his hat - looked up and appealed "Lord - I ain't bothered ya for nigh on forty years and if you'll get me out of this lot I won't bother ya for another forty."<br /><br />FatFathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10893777139388546286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-595863394785083402011-03-22T18:11:20.705-04:002011-03-22T18:11:20.705-04:00Very nice!
I'm with you. Sometimes I can'...Very nice!<br /><br />I'm with you. Sometimes I can't make it 10 seconds into a prayer before I wander off to "more interesting" thoughts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-62905131555722886642011-03-22T17:29:56.155-04:002011-03-22T17:29:56.155-04:00Thanks for your words Martyn.
I agree with you tha...Thanks for your words Martyn.<br />I agree with you that reaching out to the transcendent, eternal, spiritual Other that is our God is highly personal. I attempt to follow Jesus' words "go into your room and pray". Emphasis on attempt.Pamelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05815263209123614682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-49553840474992771552011-03-22T08:51:50.142-04:002011-03-22T08:51:50.142-04:00Having said all of the above, I nonetheless LOVE n...Having said all of the above, I nonetheless LOVE no. 10... <br /><br />Perhaps the light is breaking through for me as well? :)Martyn J Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-46738831601797921602011-03-22T07:45:20.968-04:002011-03-22T07:45:20.968-04:00I always find the whole issue of prayer rather tri...I always find the whole issue of prayer rather tricky - but then I guess I find ALL relationships rather tricky to one degree or another. <br />Given that I am not convinced that any person is truly qualified to advise or make comments on an 'effective' relationship I also tend to feel that all comments on prayer to be entirely subjective, unnecessarily verbose, unhelpfully prescriptive and, to be brutally frank, usually more useful in invoking guilt and a sense of failure than inspiring of deeper devotion and exploration. <br /><br />PLEASE don't get me wrong - I absolutely don't want to be negative or cynical about either this thread or prayer. <br /><br />I am just thinking aloud in an honest matter about a subject about which I feel that the more words spoken about it lead to a greater sense of confusion and discouragement... <br /><br />I categorically wouldn't want to dare to advise someone, even a friend, on how best to engage and communicate with another person. Much less would I dare to piously pontificate on how a person ought to reach out to the transcendent, eternal, spiritual Other that is our God... <br /><br />Oh dear, I realise that despite my protestations to the contrary that some will read this as negative. So be it. <br /><br />I guess that my contention and belief is that prayer is just far too mysterious and far, far too important to quantify, analyse and write theses about... <br /><br />Just some thoughts. No offence whatsoever is intended...Martyn J Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-90474338856181776792011-03-22T03:28:50.521-04:002011-03-22T03:28:50.521-04:00Dear ananoymous. Maybe it is the hopeful spiritual...Dear ananoymous. Maybe it is the hopeful spirituality of youth, but maybe only in such hope is there hope. Sure, prayer is a thousand miles away not only from oru churches, but from our very world in the modern West. But knowing this as the heart of our problem is the way forward. Like you say, ben bringing this before us is a move of the Spirit to bring us hope not only in a time of abandonment, but in a time of serious spiritual drought.Paul Tysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00469200454286176877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-78384292948764726502011-03-22T01:08:43.905-04:002011-03-22T01:08:43.905-04:00Your post made me weep, partly, I suppose, because...Your post made me weep, partly, I suppose, because it is the hopeful spirituality of youth.<br /><br />For the reality is that however they appear, monasteries no longer support the monks' prayer; the monks are functionaries of the institution. It's ten times worse for women; there is no where to go.<br /><br />The God you pray to and prayer itself are no longer present in the banalities of parish worship; the laity are despised for asking the question—never answered by Holy Church—asked by Will in Piers Plowman: how can I come to 'kynde knowing'.<br /><br />Few clergy and not a lot of theologians know anything about prayer. They laugh that people 'still bother with that stuff'.<br /><br />Who prays is a theologian and who is a theologian prays—in part because knowing oneself is not so much a mental inventory as understanding how the mind works in prayer so that one can implement it; and that—originally—it was this understanding from which Christianity (if not most religions) grew. <br /><br />The rest of us retreat to the dry salvages of nakid intent.<br /><br />Keep writing Ben; we need you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-21023181701684378682011-03-21T19:34:33.089-04:002011-03-21T19:34:33.089-04:00Many thanks for this beautiful meditation, Ben. Al...Many thanks for this beautiful meditation, Ben. Along with some other matters today, it prompted this reflection on my blog: http://restorativetheology.blogspot.com/2011/03/rhythm-and-rule-of-christian-life.html<br /><br />Grace and peace to you!Brian G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15369514158451008463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-59486625659954949512011-03-21T12:19:46.760-04:002011-03-21T12:19:46.760-04:00Fantastic postFantastic postPhillip Rousheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10151691624623324272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-63068144916456009752011-03-21T11:40:29.262-04:002011-03-21T11:40:29.262-04:00"Why do we close our eyes when praying?"..."Why do we close our eyes when praying?"<br /><br />To avoid distraction from the things of the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-66293350296619397012011-03-21T04:42:38.159-04:002011-03-21T04:42:38.159-04:00This is the impetus for the conversation about pra...This is the impetus for the conversation about prayer and daily attendances and ways of coming before God that I spoke (prosletysed??) about today after class. I hope you might be able to attend on the 2nd Ben...I think your voice/presence would really make a difference. Thanks for this...AlisonAlison Bleyerveenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09706668482730212073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-63767898522193427962011-03-20T22:47:45.143-04:002011-03-20T22:47:45.143-04:00Thanks for this post. It helped me a lot today.Thanks for this post. It helped me a lot today.dreaminginthedeepsouthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020119023684944166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-6708646587362858292011-03-20T18:50:55.981-04:002011-03-20T18:50:55.981-04:0010. Sublime.<b>10.</b> <i>Sublime</i>.besideourselveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18434192984017773791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-55506037329597519302011-03-20T13:16:30.024-04:002011-03-20T13:16:30.024-04:00"listening to listening" the old gal of ..."listening to listening" the old gal of calcutta said (so my wife told me last night)<br /><br />it's not asking for junk, i think it doesn't really have words when you get down to itRetrospaghettihttp://eschatonandcartoons.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-6407192904708061762011-03-19T18:21:24.903-04:002011-03-19T18:21:24.903-04:00Wonderful Ben.
Nos. 7, 8 & 10 I liked especial...Wonderful Ben.<br />Nos. 7, 8 & 10 I liked especially.Pamelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05815263209123614682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-44998772769353677912011-03-19T13:59:05.371-04:002011-03-19T13:59:05.371-04:00I agree with David. I appreciate your honesty and...I agree with David. I appreciate your honesty and depth.<br /><br />As a minister and theologian, I have always appreciated Hans Urs von Balthasar's statement about his theology, that it "begins from the knees up." <br /><br />Bless you on your journey and stay at the monastery.By Jarrod Longbonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11230149291476756153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-74138865457418706292011-03-19T11:03:44.944-04:002011-03-19T11:03:44.944-04:00This is among the best posts I've ever read at...This is among the best posts I've ever read at F&T. Thanks for this, Ben.David W. Congdonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03009330707703611224noreply@blogger.com