National Day of Prayer

Since today is the "Un-official, official National Day of Prayer, it had me thinking about how I pray. It's funny, I have met so many people who are suprised when they find out that Wiccans, Pagans, or Witches pray. Somehow hollywood and society have made it seem like Prayer is one of those things simply reserved for the Hebrew faiths.

So, what is Prayer? Prayer is simply talking to God. About anything. I believe that Prayer is the simplest form of Magick, yet also one of the most powerful. In magick, one has to believe that what they desire will happen... it's all about Faith and Intent. When you pray, you simply give your desires over to a Higher Power. It's the simplest and pursest act of Faith and Intent that there is... trusting that the Universe, or Divine Being, has things under control.

I think that Prayer should be a part of our daily lives... but not necessarily in the ways that you would think. I pray often throughout my day, yet honestly I think I could pray more. Here are some examples of how I pray throughout my day.

When I wake up in the morning, even though I despise the thought of crawling out of bed and am really NOT a morning person, I look at my altar next to my bed. There is the Goddess statue I painted. I say, "good morning". The words are few, but it IS a prayer. I simply acknowledge the Goddess, and that she is with me. Just saying Good Morning to a symbol of Mother Nature and the Divine Feminine reminds me that my life is good, that I have a purpose, and reminds me to pray throughout my day.

When I make my bed (this does not always come next, but sometimes later in the day, LOL), I pray for peace. The motions of making my bed remind me that today is a new day, and I am "putting to rest" any worries of yesterday or the night. This simple prayer of thoughtfulness helps me 'Be Here Now" and live one day at a time.

I pray for my children's safety and happiness as I send them to the bus stop.

While I clean house, I find that the acts of cleaning have become prayers within themselves. Wiping down tables and surfaces, I pray for my life to be wiped clean of stress and "dirt". Washing the Dishes has become like a meditation, I can plan my day, talk to god about my worries, or sing a happy song while I wash the dirt away with the hot water. While I sweep and mop, I pray that good energy is swept into my home, and bad energy is swept away. When I cook, I pray for my family's health, and that the foods will nourish our bodies.

I say bedtime prayers with my children at bedtime. I pray for spiritual and emotional cleansing when I bathe. I pray for safety while I am driving. I pray for prosperity and cheerfulness while I am working. This has been my way for many years. But I still think I should take time for a couple more prayers.

I am always getting prayer requests from people, seeing prayer requests on facebook, etc... and to be honest, I felt like I didn't have time to pray for everyone. But I do! I'm going to start keeping a list by my computer where I can write down these prayer requests. Then I can remember all the requests I have seen, and at night when I am saying my prayer of thankfulness, I can pray for others as well. Not that I never pray for others, but it just hasn't been a regular daily thing latley. And there are some things I forget, because I hadn't written them down. I know that if I make an effort to do this, it will become habit just as my other prayers have become habits, ingrained into my daily life and routines.

And tonight, I will pray for YOU. I will say a prayer for anyone who has read this blog today, for you to have peace and wisdom about whatever your current situation may be.

Have a great night, and a wonderful National Day of Prayer! Namaste!