{"id":7763,"date":"2004-02-08T17:33:15","date_gmt":"2004-02-08T21:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wtb.org\/?p=7763"},"modified":"2018-12-27T17:04:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T21:04:50","slug":"prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/?p=7763","title":{"rendered":"Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Islam\u2014Tasneem Ahmed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muslims believe that praying for someone after he or she has died makes a difference. \u201cIt gives us strength and peace that we can do something, we\u2019re not helpless,\u201d Tasneem said. She recited this prayer from the opening chapter in the Qur’an that is part of a Muslim\u2019s five daily prayers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All praise and thanks belong to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. We worship only You and we seek only Your help. Guide us to the straight path\u2014the path of those whom you have given your blessings and not the path of those who have earned your anger and who have gone astray. “<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tasneem said that prayer reminds a Muslim woman how much she\nrelies on God\u2019s help. She says Muslims often ask their friends and relatives to\npray for them, since they believe that prayer can change things. Muslims have\nprayers to recite when they get up, before they eat, when they finish eating,\nand when they go to bed. Special prayers can be said when making a big\ndecision. \u201cPrayer gives me the strength and power to deal with things. I don\u2019t\nknow how I would deal with them if I didn\u2019t have prayer,\u201d Tasneem said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judaism\u2014Ann Eppinger Port<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann <\/strong>said that Judaism is more than a religion or set of\nbeliefs. It is a comprehensive way of life. Judaism is based on a set of rules\nand practices known as Halakhah, which includes instructions on everything from\neating to conducting business to observing the Sabbath. She explained these are\nnot rules for rules\u2019 sake but a way of bringing spirituality into everyday\nlife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a Jewish person sins against God, she uses prayer to\nconfess that sin and ask God for forgiveness. When she sins against another\nperson, she should, in addition, try to make restitution to the person wronged.\nJudaism teaches that prayer must be accompanied by repentance and an effort to\nchange one\u2019s behavior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Jews, prayer is a very personal undertaking during which a\nperson looks within herself. Jews pray directly to God without any\nintermediary. While many prayers are said alone, others are recited together in\na gathering of at least ten Jewish adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann said that an observant Jew prays every day. Prayers\noffered include those upon awakening (thanking God for returning our souls from\ntheir nighttime wanderings), before\/after eating, when putting on new clothes,\nbefore lighting Sabbath candles, when something happens for first time (such as\nnaming a child), or when a good or bad thing happens. The Kaddish, a memorial\nprayer, is said twice daily when mourning a close relative and is recited\nyearly on the anniversary of the person\u2019s death. The Kaddish does not say\nanything about death or loss; rather, it praises God, acknowledges God\u2019s wisdom,\nand asks for peace on earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann explained that Judaism allows people to interpret the\nBible for themselves and allows for flexibility in beliefs. She said she finds\nmeaning in the traditions, such as lighting the Sabbath candles, attending\nSabbath services, and observing major holidays. But to this she has added\nJewish mysticism and the practice of Reiki. She believes God is a \u201cuniversal\nenergy force, with which I try to communicate through prayer and meditation.\u201d\nAnn says she has learned to trust God more in recent years and to pray less for\nthe things she wants and more for guidance as to what her path through life\nshould be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddhism\u2014Phyllis Berman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis said Buddhists\nmeditate every day. Zen Buddhism is not about asking for help for oneself but about\n\u201cextending a loving well-being to oneself and all beings so that all are freed\nof suffering and at peace.\u201d She explained that the Buddhist version of prayer\nis to deepen one\u2019s sense of gratitude and one\u2019s sense of uniting with the\nuniverse through vows, chanting and meditation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMeditation is a focused concentration that helps one open to\nthe presence of the Divine, to become compassionate and to live life with an\nopen heart,\u201d Phyllis said. The goal of meditation is to experience each moment\njust as it is, without labeling it or interpreting it \u2026 just being. Phyllis said\nthat she once found that \u201cmoment of just being\u201d at a retreat, but as soon as\nshe thought, \u201cI\u2019ve got it,\u201d it disappeared! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis noted that chanting is an ancient part of many\nreligions and helps a Buddhist prepare her body and mind for meditation. She added\nthat chants are often directed toward someone who is ill or suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phyllis spoke of always having loved music, even as a child,\nand of the importance that singing has had in her life. While singing in\nconcerts, she has found tears flowing down her face. \u201cI was part of this whole,\nmy little sound disappeared, making the beautiful music, and it was thrilling \u2026\n.. That was my first experience of myself melting into the oneness.\u201d She said that\nin Zen, the idea of a separate self is seen as an illusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christianity\u2014Mary\nGiegengack Jureller <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary explained the \u201cenormous expanse\u201d of prayer within the Roman\nCatholic tradition. One meaningful practice for her is Lectio Divina (literally,\ndivine reading), whereby she reads a\nsacred text and lets it speak to her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What distinguishes Christianity from Judaism and Islam, she\nsaid, is the belief in a Trinity (God in three forms: Creator, Redeemer,\nSanctifier) and in the Incarnation (the fact that God became human in Jesus).\nShe noted that Jesus, the Christ, is central to prayer for many Christians,\nalthough many people pray to God using various names. She explained that Roman\nCatholics balance private prayer, communal prayer (prayer with others), and\nliturgical prayer (official prayer of the church). The latter, she said,\nfollows set forms from Jewish tradition. Another similarity between the two\nfaiths is the Christian Eucharist, which comes from the Jewish Passover meal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary explained that when she lived in a monastery, it was important\nto her to observe the Liturgy of the Hours, a prayer time that took place approximately\nevery three hours (except that she did not get up to pray during the night). She\nfound it meaningful that through this practice, prayers are going up\ncontinuously throughout the day, all across the world. \u201cYou were praying for\nthe whole church and world \u2026 . All [the prayers] didn\u2019t speak to what you were\nexperiencing in your personal life \u2026 but somebody in the world is experiencing\nthe feelings that were in that prayer. You got a sense that your prayer was one\npart of the prayer of millions going on at the same time. I found that\nuplifting.\u201d She joked that Roman Catholics are known for the \u201csmells and bells\u201d;\nhowever, she finds her spirituality is heightened by candles and music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary finds a similarity between Christianity and Zen Buddhism\nin the concept of centering prayer, what she described as \u201cprayer trying to be\nvery quiet, to abandon all words, to find a center.\u201d She finds reflective\ncontemplative prayer to be most meaningful at this stage of her life but notes\nthat her tradition offers so many forms of prayer that she can use whatever\ntype helps her at any particular time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting after these presentations, many women noted the\ncommonality among the traditions. One Muslim woman noted that the Jewish prayer\nthat was read reminded her of a Muslim prayer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A short discussion ensued about whether women would be\noffended if those of other faiths came to recite prayers with them. Most said\nthey would not, noting, however, that they would not want other women to pray\nin ways that were uncomfortable for them; for example, a Jewish woman would not\npray to Jesus in a Christian prayer service. But all who spoke expressed a welcoming\nwarmth in wanting others to participate\u2014as they were able\u2014in their services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other topics discussed were posture during prayer (e.g., prostration),\nthe use of prayer to help insomnia (as in \u201ccounting your blessings\u201d), and the use\nof prayer beads made with the initials of family members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nancy Sullivan Murray closed the program by asking us to remember to pray for WTB women who are facing difficult times, job loss or medical tests. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the presentations on prayer, some commonality among the traditions was noted. We wondered about the possibility of attending prayers in other faith traditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21,15,16,17,41],"class_list":["post-7763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-programs","tag-buddhism","tag-christianity","tag-islam","tag-judaism","tag-spiritual-practices",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7763"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8527,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7763\/revisions\/8527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}