"So when words bring you closer to the prisoner in his cell, to the patient who is dying on his bed alone, to the starving child, then it's a prayer.” -Elie Wiesel

April 11, 2010 was "Yom HaShoah," Holocaust Remembrance Day. I was fortunate to hear an interview with guest Elie Wiesel on Krista Tippett’s, Speaking of Faith. Mr. Wiesel is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Peace Prize. He is well known for his efforts to end the bloodshed and persecution of Jews as well as other people suffering atrocities in countries around the world. Both Elie Wiesel’s parents and his little sister died during the Holocaust. He miraculously survived the horrors of the concentration camps. In his interview, Mr. Wiesel shared profound insights about how the Holocaust changed him forever and the impact it had on his faith.

 When asked about his declared lack of faith and if he ever reconsidered, Wiesel said, “ I couldn't make it ten minutes later. At that moment, I made it. And because it was there, I had to make it. But as I said earlier, then I went back to prayer. Again, remember that — what is prayer? You take words, everyday words, and all of a sudden they became holy. Why? Because there is something that separates one word from another and then you try to fill the vacuum. With what? With whom? With what memory? With what aspiration? So when words bring you closer to the prisoner in his cell, to the patient who is dying on his bed alone, to the starving child, then it's a prayer.” Weisel’s poignant response led me to reflect on the meaning of prayer.

  Prayer is hopeful. Prayer contains our greatest desires. At a basic level, we turn to prayer in challenging times to ask for help for those we love. We hope for safety at the onset of a journey. We hope for good health. We hope for wisdom when making a conflicting decision. We hope for an end to war, abuse and poverty. We hope for happiness and a good life.

 Prayer is humbling. Prayer is recognition that we are not the authors of our lives. We can not control or manipulate life to conform to our demands, as much as we try. Prayer is letting go in faith and trust. Prayer is being willing to acknowledge our weakness. Prayer is a fervent desire to be loved and the mistaken belief that we are not worthy of love. Yet, it matters not if we are worthy or unworthy for God’s love for us is unconditional.

 Prayer brings us closer (Wiesel.) When we have the courage to stand present and bear witness to another person’s suffering that is prayer. It is a privilege to be invited into the inner sanctuary of a person’s life. When entering into the darkness of despair we risk touching the vulnerability of our own pain as well.  When doing so, a mutuality of compassion overflows illuminating our way.Today
if you hear God's voice, harden
not your heart. Psalmist (Ps 95)

   Prayer is stillness. A contemplative approach to prayer is different from requesting that God intervene in our lives. It is more of a sincere desire to enter into the presence of the Divine. It is prayer that longs for communion with God. There in the stillness of our soul we wait for God to speak. God’s brilliance is beyond thought, beyond word, and immerses us in compassion for ourselves and for others. "Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in
the hands of God, at his disposition,and listening to his voice in the depths
of our hearts." ~Mother Teresa

 Prayer is living the fullness of life. We wait for God not only in stillness of our hearts but in our daily living, in our work and playfulness. The very act of breathing is a gift of unconditional Love from our creator. Every breath is a communion with God. Every step we take is an opportunity to walk in peace (Thich Nhat Hahn.) Living in awareness opens us to receive moments of Grace that might otherwise go unnoticed or remain hidden from our sight.

 Prayer is action. In it’s most powerful form prayer is service to humankind. There is so much unmet need in our world. Too often, our fear based thinking restricts us in a mindset of self-protection. Yet, prayer transforms our restrictive stance of “no” not me into the possibilities of “yes” we can. Love enables us to move beyond self-interest to reach out to others. It is here that we find God and when we are serving another, we discover the Holiest of all Communion.

  Prayer is universal. Ghandhi once said, “I believe in the fundamental truth of all great religions of the world. I believe that they are all God-given and I believe that they were necessary for the people to whom these religions were revealed. And I believe that if only we could all of us read the scriptures of the different faiths from the standpoints of the followers of these faiths, we should find that they were at bottom all one and were all helpful to one another.”

Prayer is Unity. I share the following prayers with you in celebration of our Oneness.

Peace be with you.

~Liz Sorensen Wessel

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I believe in the sun
though it is late in rising.
I believe in love
though it is absent.
I believe in God
though He is silent.

 Anonymous Holocaust Survivor Cologne Germany

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And we know that all things work together
for
good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his
purpose.

Romans 8:28 – The Apostle Paul

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  Buddhist Prayer

Thou art everywhere, but I worship you here:
Thou art without form, but I worship you in these forms:
Thou needest no praise, yet I offer you these prayers and salutations.

 ~Anon

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Hindu Prayer

When you pray you are speaking to God,
meditate, still your mind,
and then you can hear God.
Only when your mind becomes still
can you get clarity.

Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj

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  Baha'i Prayer – Bahá'u'lláh

 
O Source of my being,
and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me,
O Thou Who art my God!
Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquility on me,
O my Companion,
and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance
deliver me from all except Thee, O my Master,
and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine
incorruptible Essence bring me joy,
O Thou Who art the most manifest of the manifest
and the most hidden of the hidden

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  Islamic Prayer –

Send Thy peace O Lord, which is
perfect and everlasting,
that our souls may radiate peace.
Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may think, act and speak harmoniously.
Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may be contented and thankful for
Thy bountiful gifts.
Send Thy peace O Lord, that our lives
may become a Divine vision and in Thy light,
all darkness may vanish.
Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother,
that we Thy children on Earth may all
unite in one family.

 Pir-O-Murshid Inayat Khan – 1921 ±

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Jain Prayer

May the sacred stream of amity flow
forever in my heart,
may the universe prosper
such is my cherished desire.
May my heart sing with ecstasy
at the sight of the virtuous,
and may my life be an offering
at their feet.
May my heart bleed at the sight
of the wretched, the cruel, the poor and the irreligious,
and may my tears of compassion
flow from my eyes.
May the spirit of goodwill
enter all our hearts,
may we all sing together in chorus
the immortal song of human concord.

The Immortal Songs – Gurudev Shri Chitrabhanuji – 1950's 

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Sikh Prayer

I see no stranger, I see no enemy
Wherever I look, God is all I see
I don't think of us and them
No one do I hate or condemn
I see God's image – each one a friend.
Of any religion, caste or race
All I see is God's shining face
His smiling face, His gracious face.
Accept as beautiful all His design
I learnt this truth in sangat divine
One Word resounds in me and you
Waheguru … Waheguru …
In him, in her, in me and you
Waheguru … Waheguru …
Beholding in every being His light
I bloom like a flower in joy and delight.

Adi Granth – Guru Arjun Dev Ji – Ca. 1604 CE.

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Tao Prayer

Empty of all doctrines,
The Tao is wisdom eternally inexhaustible.
Fathomless for the mere intellect,
The Tao is the law wherewith all things come into being.
It blunts the edges of the intellect,
Untangles the knots of the mind,
Softens the glare of thinking,
And settles the dust of thought.
Transparent yet invisible,
The Tao exists like deep pellucid water.
Its origin is unknown,
For it existed before Heaven and Earth

The Book of Balance – Chapter 4 – Lao Tsu – Circa 600 BCE

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Zoroastrian Prayer: God Is Love

With bended knees, with hands outstretched, do I yearn for the effective 
expression of the holy spirit working within me:
For this love and understanding, truth and justice; for wisdom to know the 
apparent from the real that I might alleviate the sufferings of men on earth…. 
God is love, understanding, wisdom, and virtue. Let us love one another, 
let us practice mercy and forgiveness, let us have peace, born of fellow-feeling…
Let my joy be of altruistic living, of doing good to others. Happiness is unto 
him from who happiness proceeds to any other human being. 

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Native American Prayer  

O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you. 
To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children: 
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace in mind. 
Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide for us on this Earth.

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Shinto Prayer

Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters-why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us?
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.