Rev Rebecca Bryan
Sep 7, 2018 · 2 min read

Take a moment today to intentionally send loving thoughts to two people who have touched your life in positive ways.

I used to think that prayer was only for true believers, not for seekers and skeptics like me. For decades, the pain and confusion of my unanswered prayers kept me from using prayer as one of my spiritual practices. It never occurred to me that perhaps what needed to change were my beliefs about prayer, which had been based on what people had taught me about prayer, rather than discarding this ancient practice.

I stopped believing that prayer was a litmus test for the proof of God and started using prayer as a pathway to compassion.

Today I pray daily, imperfectly and willingly. I pray because there is so little that is within my control. I cannot save those that I love from pain. I cannot heal the bodies and hearts in pain. I cannot save myself. I certainly cannot save the world.

I can take a minute to notice what is good and say “thank you”. I can think of people I care about and send them love.

Proof of God? That was a set up.

I have discovered that it is as helpful to pray to the living as it is to pray to those who have passed away. Thich Nhat Hanh

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