A NOTE ON PRAYER

 

          A NOTE ON PRAYER

“Prayer” is a sacred word. It means an entreaty to God. Most of the people pray for some personal benefit. Such a prayer is not admirable. The  English poet S. T. Coleridge (1772-1834) says in the last stanza of his poem “The Ancient Mariner” :

                        He prayeth well who loveth well

                        Both man and bird and beast

                        He prayeth best who loveth best

                        All things, both great and small:

                        For the dear God who loveth us,

                        He made and loveth all.

            An ideal devotee of God will pray for the health and happiness, peace and prosperity of even his enemy.

According to the English  poet James Kirkup (1918-2009):

           

                        No men are strange, no countries foreign,…

                        Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read

                        A labour not different from our own….

                        Remember they have eyes like ours that wake

                        Or sleep, and strength that can be won

                        Bt love.

           

The best part of our  prayer to God should be that in which we express our heartfelt gratitude to Him for all His gifts and mercies.

 

            Finally, a few words by the English poet  Alfred Lord Tennyson (!809-1892) : “More things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, if, knowing God, they lift no hands of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends !”

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G.R.Kanwal

14 May 2024