Prayer as Praxis

By:  Lester C. Yee

On this first Sunday of Lent, we begin a series of three articles on the Pillars of Lent with this installation on prayer as one of them.

During the Lenten season, one is asked to prepare oneself for the Easter season, when Christ vanquishes death and sin. This is usually done through prayer. In fact, prayer is considered as one of the pillars of Lent.

However, prayer is often misunderstood as a private affair with oneself and God. The common image of prayer is of a child kneeling beside his bed, hands clasped and eyes closed. Although this image has its strengths, thinking that this is the only sort of prayer is reductionism.

An adult kneeling beside his bed with hands clasped in an air-conditioned room may actually be deaf and blind to the realities of the world outside. It is within this context that the common image of prayer is challenged. The common image of prayer assumes a relationship of intimacy between God and an individual that it might tend to shut out the others.

Note that this article is not saying that there is no intimate relationship between God and an individual. This article is shattering the myth that it is this intimacy alone that man needs. As Christ says, prayer without action is dead. In fact, I go on to claim that true intimacy with Christ cannot be achieved through the traditional image of prayer alone.

A genuine and intimate relationship with Christ involves others. Religion and revelation are done in the context of a community. Thus, as one prays, one not only prays and talks to the Divine Being but one works so as that Divine Being’s light can shatter the darkness of sin and death,  making others realize the true joy of Easter.

Genuine prayer involves action.