You leave my soul right here, in my fifty-pound body. That so, so did not work for me, especially in the dark in a strange home. Wait, what? What did you say? I could die in my sleep? I'm only seven years old. Some of you were taught to pray at bedtime with your parents, and when I spent the night at your houses, I heard all of you saying these terrifying words: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Or for convenience we could just say "God." We could call this force Not Me, and Not Preachers Onstage with a Choir of 800. Let's just say prayer is communication from our hearts to the great mystery, or Goodness, or Howard to the animating energy of love we are sometimes bold enough to believe in to something unimaginably big, and not us. Let's not get bogged down on whom or what we pray to. My friend Robyn calls God "the Grandmothers." The Deteriorata, a parody of the Desiderata, counsels us, "Therefore, make peace with your god, / Whatever you conceive him to be- / Hairy thunderer, or cosmic muffin."
I know some ironic believers who call God Howard, as in "Our Father, who art in Heaven, Howard be thy name." I called God Phil for a long time, after a Mexican bracelet maker promised to write "Phil 4:4–7" on my bracelet, Philippians 4:4–7 being my favorite passage of Scripture, but got only as far as "Phil" before having to dismantle his booth. Nothing could matter less than what we call this force. Or let's say it is a cry from deep within to Life or Love, with capital L's.
Let's say it is what the Greeks called the Really Real, what lies within us, beyond the scrim of our values, positions, convictions, and wounds. Or if that is too triggering or ludicrous a concept for you, to the Good, the force that is beyond our comprehension but that in our pain or supplication or relief we don't need to define or have proof of or any established contact with.
Let's say it is communication from one's heart to God. It is communication from the heart to that which surpasses understanding. Prayer is private, even when we pray with others. It's not for display purposes, like plastic sushi or neon. You may in fact be wondering what I even mean when I use the word "prayer." It's certainly not what TV Christians mean. I do not know much about God and prayer, but I have come to believe, over the past twenty-five years, that there's something to be said about keeping prayer simple. Read on to find out what they are in this excerpt from her book, Help Thanks Wow. Author Anne Lamott says there are three simple prayers that can get you through the good, bad and even the ordinary aspects of daily life.
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