Artist Scott Erickson's exhibit Teach Us to Pray explores the problem of prayer—one familiar to many of us. He writes about the exhibit this way:
When you think about “prayer,” what image comes to mind?
Hands clasped? Kneeling? Sunset? On a mountain? On the beach? All very spiritual, right?
How often do you accomplish these images? Rarely? Talking about our prayer life is like talking about our ab routine… nobody feels like they’re killing it. Buy maybe the failure isn’t our prayer practice as much as it is accomplishing these inner images we equate with prayer.
What we need then is an alternative set of images to invite us into the conversation with God we deeply desire.
Jesus’ disciples, Jews in a highly religious system, came to Him and requested that He “teach us to pray.” Before Jesus gives, what we call now The Lord’s Prayer, he says, “Your Father in Heaven knows everything you need before you ask. So then pray like this…” According to Jesus, prayer is less of a list to accomplish (that’s already known!) and more of a reality to live into. A kingdom to embody.
This set of prayer images is an invitation to embody this reality. Each piece begins with a statement of frustration about unaccomplishable prayer. Then an image and meditation is offered as a reframing how we can enter into a deeper conversation with the Divine.
We often confuse the mechanics of prayer with the essence of prayer. The essence of prayer is the Love of God. The mechanics are the words, images, music, etc. we use to open us up to Love. I hope these simple images help you on your journey to Love.
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