Who's on first?

So here is our blog question for this week: 

BLOG QUESTION: Should we pray to Gods presence and power in the cosmos, opening ourselves to the infilling of spirit?  Or should we center on the spirit within, allowing it to emerge?

                How should we pray?  It has been said that “There are as many ways to pray as there are people who pray.”  This statement implies that every single person prays differently and that there are no “right” or “wrong” ways to pray.  It also doesn't make clear the possibility that each person might pray differently from time to time as well, and in fact, sometimes pray differently in the same prayer.  It also doesn't account the people who are supposed to pray the same prayer and in the same position and face the same direction every time they pray.  I think someone could argue that those prayers actually are the same. 

                Before getting into the one-way-or-the-other discussion, I’d like to point out the swing point in this question.  The word “should” is a terribly confusing word, especially used in this context.  Using the word “should” carries a lot of power and authority with it, it implies that I know what is best for you and the outcome will benefit you the most if you do as I tell you to.  I also believe that “should-ing” on someone, as I like to call it, eliminates many variables including, but not limited to, situations, experience, history and people involved. 

                So, with all of that said, who are you to decide for someone else what is the best way to pray?  And isn't it possible that you pray a certain way because it works best for you but that may not be the best way that works for me? 

                I can see many benefits to these potential methods of prayer and I believe that which works best for you would completely depend on the evolution of your consciousness.  Praying to Gods presence and power in the cosmos, and opening ourselves to the infilling of spirit is an activity of surrendering to a power greater than yourself.  It is an understanding that when nothing seems to be going right, all you have to do is believe in that power and presence in your life that keeps the universe from spinning out of order and believe that your life, although occasionally seems that way, will always be in His(objectively used) order.  There is a lot of power in this method of praying and if ever there were a time when I felt helpless or powerless, I imagine that recognizing the greatness and allness of the power of God would really help to align me with the one presence, but only when I am out of balance.

                The other avenue or method in question is the process of centering on the spirit within you and allowing it to emerge.  This to me seems like a more daily, ritualistic prayer routine.  The benefits are that continuous reconnecting and aligning with the spirit within you is empowering and brings more accountability into your reality.  If this power within you really is the same as the great power that created the cosmos, then the situation you’re in, whether it be crisis or euphoria, is present because of your manifestations.  As exciting, and mortifying as that can sound, I believe it is more than just creating your reality.  It is about being conscious at all times of your spirit.  It is when we lose awareness of that spirit when we seem disconnected or distant from God. 

                So I think prayer is like a baseball pitching staff; everyday pitchers, and situational pitchers are meant for different things, but are all on the same team, attempting to accomplish the same thing.   These are just two pitchers, or methods of prayer, in a bullpen of choices.  Use what works for you, or let the situation decide what is needed.  Regardless of the method or the situation, know that spirit is spirit, no matter where you see it or how you use it.   And in the words of the great Yogi Berra (Hall of Fame Catcher for the New York Yankees)  "If you don’t know where you’re going , you might wind up someplace else."