Prayer in public

Have you ever wanted to pray while in a public setting, but hesitated to show any signs that you were praying for fear of drawing attention to yourself?

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in a tennis club lounge waiting for my match to be called. Dozens of players were milling around, talking and having a grand time. I was having a grand time too, but I also craved a few silent moments with God. So I sat down, closed my eyes, mentally blocked out all the sounds and distractions around me, and went directly to divine Love. I became oblivious to material surroundings and let the heavenly inspiration flow freely. The effect was exhilarating and liberating.

When I ended my prayer and opened my eyes, I turned to my coach who had sat next to me, and was greeted with, “Are you alright? Are you feeling okay?” Surprised by his observation, I assured him I felt better than ever, and that he had no reason to be concerned.

I pondered his reaction, wondering why he drew a conclusion opposite to the truth.

One reason, I decided, was that it was unusual to see someone totally “check out” from engagement with the senses while participating in otherwise very physically engaged environments. Another reason, I thought, was the common perception that if one is very quiet and unengaged physically, there is something wrong with him. He’s probably sick or has mental problems, many might conclude.

Do these common perceptions about what constitutes “normal” behavior prevent many people from praying in public settings when they may need God more than ever? I asked myself.

Yes, I understand the concept of praying on the run, praying while grocery shopping, and praying in the middle of intense business negotiations. But there is no substitute for totally shutting down the material senses and receiving God’s full blessing of Truth.

Yesterday, I took my 13 year old son to the Hot Shots Lazer Tag fun center in town for a father/son activity.

If you can imagine the setting, with dozens of 5-15 year olds bouncing off each other in the waiting area like popcorn popping in a kettle quickly eating up the limited available space and with no where to go until released, and with a few parents standing around wondering, “What am I doing here?” you have an idea of the environment I was in.

After the first 15 minute match, I craved a few quiet moments with God. So I found a remote corner with a couch, sat down, closed my eyes, shut down the material senses and went directly to heaven. It was a quiet place to be, and it brought immense peace.

When it was time to enter the arena, I stood in line with my son and a woman next to me commented, with a very supportive and perhaps a bit of an envious tone, “You’re the guy who was sleeping on the sofa!”

I thought, “There it is again. The expectation in active public settings is that one is to be physically engaged. A prayerful state of thought is not recognized. If I had been sitting in a church building, people would have known I was praying.

I’ve wondered since, does this expectation that you should stay physically engaged prevent many of us from praying when we ought to be praying?

Have you ever been in a busy public place where you would have loved to stop everything, sit down, shut your eyes and commune solely with God?

Why didn’t you? What prevented you from doing the one thing that would have accomplished the most good, and the fastest?

Did you not stop and pray for fear of being seen by someone else? For fear of being judged as unusual or weird?

Maybe it’s time to change our priorities. We might be better off in the long run to put the maintenance of spiritual mindedness above worrying about what other people think.

In the middle of a noisy party, wouldn’t it be neat if you could sit down a few minutes, mentally check out of the commotion, pray in solitude and have everyone around you observe, “They are taking a few moments out with God. That is cool. I will let them be.”

I hope that day is coming! Keeping our thought spiritually inspired is the most constructive thing we can do under all circumstances, and it’s for everyone’s benefit.

Prayer in public: it should not be an odd event, but a common occurrence.

I hope you’ll join me if you’re not already.

Happy day!