How (and Why) We Pray (Phenomenology of Prayer)

It never occurred to me that prayer is neither true nor false-it cannot be verified because it is based on a conversation with God, or to whatever deity we pray. I guess what makes prayer true or false is the basis on which one's faith rest. 




Why do we pray?




According to Norman Wirzba, prayer serves to "to rekindle and restore the relation between creation and Creator" (pg. 91). This idea captures my attention because I never thought of prayer as such: to rekindle and restore. Prayer does, indeed, give us an outlet to express ourselves in whatever way we choose. Wirzba suggests that praying provides us a true and accurate understanding of our worldly standing; that is, our place in the world. Also, he argues that prayer helps situate our lives among others for we can learn how we can contribute to the public good. "Prayer has the capacity to situate our life properly and justly among the lives of others," Wirzba argues. When we pray, we remove ourselves from our own ambitions to learn from our god our place in life.


What we say in prayer is secondary to how we pray. This idea adds to my curiosity for it opposes my initial thinking. What we pray about was important to me more than how we pray. According to Wirzba, "how" we prays signifies our position toward God; that is, our attitude toward praying.  He asserts, "What matters most is how our praying has the practical effect of repositioning us within the world-making us more perceptive, more sympathetic, more charitable -so that we no longer perceive and engage it in the same way as before" (pg. 90).  Apparently, he believes our praying leads us to be more in tune to the world as we rearrange our priorities; ranking altruism and philanthropy, for example, as more important than, say, individualism.  He explains further that the praying act itself is important because of the orientation we assume within the world and to God. "....it practically situates us before God and within creation: prayer inspires and animates a moral response to the world" (pg. 90)


I don't quite understand when Wirzba means by the proverb "To pray is to work".  Despite his explanation, I'm still confused.  I think he's saying that authentic, productive work connects us more to reality, detaching us from consumer culture. He details. "...authentic, productive work leads us into a more sympathetic encounter and engagement with reality and thus overcomes the superficiality characteristic of consumer culture" (pg. 99).