Religious and Spiritual Experience
56
All over the world, different ceremonies take place, often
to mark rites
of passage, birth, marriage and death.
Prayer
Communication with God, the divine or ultimate reality is at the heart of
religious practice. Prayer may be formal, regular or an ongoing, informal
communication. Some prayer is specific, involving gratitude, penitence or
petition, while for some takes place in silence, as listening to God is as
important as speaking. Just how far God might intervene in the day-to-day
affairs of people
remains a matter for debate, as does the question of just
how right it might be to pray for selfish ends. But there is no doubt that for
many people, prayer is at the heart of religious practice, it is what underpins
a life of faith. This account is of an unusually powerful time of prayer.
My experience happened some years ago . . . it happened during a period
of prayer that I found myself going through a tense physical struggle
somewhat similar to childbirth. I became suddenly aware of light rays
about me. It frightened me, thinking that I had entered a forbidden
realm by mistake. But what happened to me was most wonderful.
I actually felt that I was in tune with the entire universe. I became
imbued with a feeling of unity toward all mankind. That
feeling to a
certain extent has stayed with me. It was a startling experience and
I honestly felt that I had made a new discovery . . . there is no doubt in
my mind that God is a reality. [0673]
Here is an account of answered prayer.
I suffer from endogenous depression which occasionally is so acute as
to make me suicidally inclined. One of these attacks occurred in 1964
when I was in New Zealand. Being a Londoner and a newcomer, with
very few friends in Wellington, I wrote for help to the vicar of my for-
mer parish in England. The feeling of despair left me suddenly some
days later. When his reply arrived, I learned that as soon as he received
my letter he had gone
into his church to pray for me, and he mentioned
the date and the time. Calculations, allowance for the time difference
and so on, showed that this was the moment of my release. I am quite
convinced that the prayers of this good man were in some way instru-
mental in bringing the power of God to bear on my desperate situa-
tion. . . . The Christian faith is important to me and were it not for the
Religious Triggers
57
support and comfort I derive from it I should probably have put my
head in the gas oven long ago! [000642]
Some times of prayer are taken up with formal prayers and require
dedication, even when the mind seems to wander. Such
set prayers can
often be helpful, particularly for people new to a faith. However, many
people do find it quite easy to pray in a completely natural, informal way,
I talk to God like I’m talking to you. I can be struggling on the car in
an awkward position doing a job, and I get a bit frustrated at times,
and I’ll just say, ‘Come on, God, you can see me struggling, get your
finger out, you can see what I’m trying to do – come on.’ Just like that.
I find it very easy to talk to God. I really do believe that God is listen-
ing to me any time I wish to talk to him.
48
Although such
communication is easy for some, others find it difficult,
so for them petitionary prayer is a way of bringing the person prayed for
and their need into one’s deepest awareness, as a Quaker put it,
It is impossible to write about religious experience without saying
something about prayer and the way in which the life of the spirit is
sustained. Prayer is such a personal activity that I can only write about
it from my own experience. . . . I know many Friends who are able to
engage in a kind of dialogue with God,
and who are sustained by a
sense of spiritual presence in their regular quiet times. While I respect
their sincerity, and recognise the validity of their experience, I have
come to realise that this way is not for me.
The writer and his wife then had a visit from a friend in trouble, and
after she had left, they continued to discuss her predicament, empathizing
with her.
We began to see life through her eyes and, to this extent,
were sharing
her burden, so that she was no longer alone with it. We knew we had
experienced part of what people mean when they say they are praying
for someone.
49
If prayer is the act of aligning one’s will with that of the higher power,
God, Allah or whatever name one might use, then there will be comfort
for the believer whatever the outcome of the matter in hand. Some people
feel that handing their fate over to God, whether in the short or longer
Religious and Spiritual Experience
58
term, results in guidance and help. They feel
that things happen which
would not have been possible had they not taken this step.
Some people live their lives constantly aware of a divine presence, so
examples cannot be given in isolated incidents, but should be considered
in the context of a lifetime. Prayer changes over time as one matures and
may evolve from set prayers into wordless meditation. In 1989
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
