Prayer

Prayer: Any spiritual communion with God.

Long, long ago on a distant sea a missionary sailed up to a small tropical island. There he found a thriving community of believers established by one of his predecessors many years before. They had a church, a religious hierarchy, and seemed to be following all of the liturgy, rituals, and traditions very closely. There was, however, nary a mention of the Lord’s Prayer.

Our missionary friend asked the tribal leaders what prayer they used to close their services. The head guy jumps up and down and yells: “Ugga bugga flim flam BAM!”

“Why don’t you use the Lord’s Prayer?” he wondered. The tribal dudes were perplexed – never heard of it. So the missionary spends the next week eating coconuts and teaching them everything about the Lord’s Prayer. Satisfied that all is well, he boards his ship and sails away.

That night, the sky begins to glow with a weird yellow illumination. The light – which is originating in the direction of the desert island – becomes intensely bright. Suddenly, the crew spots the tribal leaders running like cheetahs right on top of the water. They catch up to the boat, obviously distressed.

“Teacher, teacher!” they shout. “Something terrible has happened. We have already forgotten that prayer!”

The priest furrows his brow, raises his finger, purses his lips, and says: “Uh, maybe you guys should keep using your own prayers.”

When we pray, we are doing well. Find something that you like and stick with it.