Cause/Effect and Awareness

This is something I have meant to write about before, but there is something from my weekly Bible Study that I see as a huge plus, and it has nothing to do with the Bible, per se.  Each week, at the end of the session, we go around the table and lift prayer concerns.  Some weeks there are more than others, and some weeks those concerns are more weighted than others.  But I think that is my favorite part of the study, or at least what I see as the most beneficial thus far.

Now, I struggle with the concept of prayer, in particular the cause and effect of it.  I'm doubtful as to the effect prayer can have on physical outcomes, and remain somewhat unsure of prayer's effect in a purely mental, emotional, or spiritual sense.  But I know that many people take it very seriously, and thus I like to remain respectful of it.  But what I do see as beneficial from prayer relates to my experiences with Buddhism, and the concept of awareness.  Not a simple awareness of others (which this type of prayer can be great for - it helps you think of others as opposed to yourself when you have that list to go off of, and any time we can be less self-centric, that's a great thing), but in Buddhism its about awareness of connectedness.

When you pray for others, not only are you thinking about them, you are thinking about how you are connected to them.  That's what you are praying - through some activity they have become part of your community, part of your life.  When you say a prayer for thankfulness prior to dinner, its just not a prayer of thanksgiving to a God, its a recognition that creation was sacrificed for your nourishment - that you are connected to that creation.  Prayer, I think, can help create that more comprehensive sense of awareness.

Back to the Bible Study, and its end round table of prayer.  It always reminds me of this interconnectedness.  It serves to remind that I belong to something outside of myself, greater than myself, and that others belong with me in that journey as well.  I find that when I sit down to do my nightly/weekly reading, and I look at the notes on the prayer concerns, I have that reminder of my place in relation to others, and to creation.  Its not just the avoidance of self-centric worldview that is always so easy to fall into, but a greater appreciation of where I came from, what I belong to, and my dependence on others and their dependence on me.

I still remain hesitant about the cause and effect as it relates to the contents of specific prayers.  But I find that the general nature of prayer assists in causing greater awareness, and that, I think, is a very good effect.