Recently I read someone’s blog where they spoke about how they were waiting for God to hear and answer their prayers. As I read it, I had this image of God as a virtual assistant. Then I had this kind of comedic conversation going on in my head. “God, thank you for checking in this morning. Listen, this is what I need you to do for me. I need you to find a job for the people on this list, heal the people on this list, bless the people on this list, and in your spare time, can you end world hunger, restore world peace, dismantle the systems of inequality, and help it to be on earth as it is in heaven. Oh and by the way, can you get me a frozen French vanilla cappuccino and a jalapeno bagel with nova scotia smoked salmon and fresh cream cheese. Thanks.” How would God respond? LOL I have no idea. I might have to hire a new virtual assistant. LOL God is not our virtual assistant and when we think of God as one who is to run errands for us then we detract form the goodness of the Divine and place all our evolution and transformation in the future, or as I like to say in the meantime.
So what if we took a moment to remember that we are the answer to our prayers. The Divine has already blessed us with everything we need to accomplish what we need in life. We have to remember that we are the answers to our own prayers. Even in the time it takes me to right this reflection this morning, I am answering my prayers and goodness is happening in my life. For example, I have been praying for my physical mobility to be improved and restored. In order for that to happen, I have a few choices. I can sit in my wheelchair and wait for God to come down upon me and tell me to stand up and walk because I have been made whole. A second choice is for me to pray for the improvement and restoration of my physical mobility and listen to the spirit within which has guided my recovery and given me the motivation to walk up and down the hallway, move my body, do shake weights, and walk my 100 foot stints slowly increasingly my lower body strength and restoring my physical mobility. If I want to be able to move better, then I have to begin by moving.
Even when it is a global concern, we are the answer to our prayers. As Gandhi said, “be the change you want to see in the world.” if I want to see the end of world hunger, then I need to do what I can to alleviate world hunger. I am directly or indirectly a part of the problem and so I am also directly or indirectly a part of the solution. When we take that time to be silent and sit with God we can hear the motivation and inspiration to move towards the answer to our prayers about how to answer anything from a smaller less complex prayer to a more global prayer. God has already given us the answers to all of our prayers. They are buried within us like treasures in a clay jar. We just have to excavate them and make use of them in our lives.