When I was a kid, back in simpler and perhaps more pleasant times when Presidents were listed in the 30's, phones had rotary dials, and vast herds of moderate and even liberal Repubs roamed the North-East and Mid-West, I used to pray for things that I thought I needed.
Like champion sports teams.
My hometown had dynasties in hockey and football and a pretty good contender in baseball. I'd wear out the figurative rosary beads during the run up to playoffs and well into every championship run.
...and like political contests.
I came from a political family. Progressives and Socialists and Liberals and Grits and Knee-Dippers and Democrats and Labour hung like red apples from all branches of my family tree. So every election, local or national and even some foreign, would see an election night party at our house. I would be hunkered down sending urgent prayer requests to the Big Guy.
My prayers, I thought, were successful more times than not. This was the 60's and 70's after all, and with some big exceptions (the Philadelphia Flyers, Nixon, a few Canadian minority governments), my prayer record clearly put me on the winning side.
But as I matured and put away childish things - like the idea that sports teams can truly bring transcendental joy - I learned the true purpose of prayer.
The latin word for "to pray" is orare. We get the words "orate" and "oration" - good political word that! - from orare. The term means to pray but it also means to beg or beseech or argue for a benefit. When I was praying and cheering for my sports teams I was begging. When I was sending fervent prayers that Carter would beat Ford I was beseeching.
Prayer is speech, pure and simple. Even if the only one you are talking to is not talking back. Even if you are only talking to yourself. Even if the meaning of your message is silence.
And prayer is just the first step. If you want divine action, it is best that the first person you kick into gear with your prayer is yourself.
We are God's hands, but there is very little She can do to help us to help in sports - for instance, to help lift Steve Rogers pitch to Rick Monday and save the game - because there is nothing WE can do to change that pitch as we are watching the game.
But there IS something we can do to effect change in politics. We can be the change this week. Prayer is speech. Action supports words. Let our actions be our prayer.
Act.
GOTV.
Volunteer.
Help.
Speak out.
Donate.
Work.
Make calls
Let these actions be your blessings.
Consider this an open thread - what are your actions saying in prayer?