Prayer and love are acts that are not always fully understood by the amateur. Prayer, like love, focuses on the self; it works on the one doing the activity.
This misunderstanding is why prayer does not get “expected” results. When Nancy Pelosi says that she prays daily for the president, she is not, as President Trump has said, “offending Americans of faith.” She is asking God to strengthen the president’s ability to fulfill his burdensome duties in the hope that she and the president will come to an understanding, respect and a friendship that should be the desire of all humanity.
Prayer is hopeful. One’s life should be an example of prayer.
The same problem exists with the concept of love. The late Phillip Smith, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, once commented on the difficulty of Christian love. He said, in essence: “You have to love everyone, but that does not mean that you have to like what they do. Loving another is a matter of holding out the possibility of liking them and what they might decide to do as well.”
In essence, loving another can change our perspective and the promised relationship with others and the world.
As a retired minister, the reason I practice prayer is to hone my ability to love. This is the Christian alternative to using force, to fixing, and to Congress’s attempt to win at all costs.
The Rev. FREDERICK STECKER
New London