by Fr. Rick Burhans
You can pretty much tell who has a great imagination by observing them as children hard at play. Those with a great imagination predictably will have created makebelieve worlds with all sorts of activities going on. Fast forward to adulthood and they are the ones who have the ability to live life in both the real and the abstract realms. Many Christian “imaginers” have dynamic faith and prayer lives that are both meaningful and vibrant. A creative imagination helps them to believe in God and to talk with Him. Jesus said to Thomas in the upper room, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29) Even though we probably won’t see Jesus physically while we are alive, we can know and experience God intimately through our prayers. The way Jesus modeled and recommended for us to communicate with God is through prayer. If you are an imaginer, I suspect you have wondered just what happens when you pray. How are prayers heard and answered? Are they answered in the order they are received? Do they have a life expectancy? Like treasured love letters, does God store them in His heart?
Father Edward Hayes proposed: “Think of our prayers as if they were mail. Our daily mail contains form letters, advertisements and personal correspondence. I sort through my mail and usually read my personal mail first, sometimes saving a special letter until last to enjoy it like a dessert. As for the junk mail, most of it goes directly to the circular file. I wonder if God sorts through prayers in a similar way?” Let’s use our imaginations to look at this more closely. A prayer offered insincerely, using only our lips and not our hearts, would feel a lot like a form letter to God. Others might be petitions requesting something of God for self or another. Yet others might resemble thank you notes or love letters. Father Hayes said, “If we want our prayers to be the ones God safely stores away, we need to be more attentive and wholehearted when we pray.” Remember that we are praying in the name of Jesus, God’s eternal Son. That being true, shouldn’t our prayers be eternal as well? If we want God to treasure them as dear keepsakes, shouldn’t we pay the utmost attention to assuring they are the best love letters He ever receives? Let’s pray from the heart, expressing our devotion to a loving God.
Father Rick Burhans is the Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Port Orange, Florida where he has served the past 12 years. He is married to Carolyn Burhans, the Living Waters’ President.