Audrey Shoop- Phenomenology of Prayer 1/2

         I really relate to the very opening of this book. The author talks about being told that prayer was simply asking God for things you want or need. As a child who grew up in a modern day Christian Megachurch, I was told the exact same thing. And it has taken years and years to try to pry that idea out of my brain so that I can truly understand and appreciate prayer for what it is. And what it is, is different for every single person who prays. I love the idea that this book suggests that prayer begins decentering. I haven't ever encountered the idea of decentering as a good thing. 

    As the book moves forward, it goes into how different people pray which is one of my favorite things to learn about. The uniqueness of prayer keeps it so incredibly interesting. There's a fantastic youtube video I watched just the other day about how different people pray. I loved it. Just as the book says, prayer precedes language. Even when there are mantras or talking involved, the words themselves are not the prayer. It is the action within ones soul. The book makes a list of things that prayer is but is also not. It goes to show how fluid and diverse prayer is.

    I love pondering the question of how God herself prays. Growing up, that was not mentioned in our church because we were so tied to the idea that prayer was simply thanking or asking something of God. So why would God ask for something? I think this disproves the idea that prayer is a conversation. Prayer is a connection. One can be connected to oneself and I think that is something God definitely is and something that human kind should strive for. 

    In recent years, my mom has learned a lot and taught me a lot about manifestation. The section titled, "Becoming what we pray" seems to echo some of those ideas. Manifestation is another one out of millions of forms of prayer. Often times christians are afraid of this word, manifestation, but is it not exactly what they do when they beg and beg God for something until the prayer is answered? This also brings forward the idea that if you are only praying about the negative in your life, those bad things will continue to grow. And that loops right back around to the importance of praise and gratefulness. If you are grateful, you will feel more grateful for the things you have.