For Him, I Pray

I never did imagine God as some bearded old dude sitting atop his heavenly throne, gazing down on us and helping out when we ask really nicely. No, I always pictured him as an all-over sort of element, the thing that fills the spaces between all of the atoms across the galaxy and beyond. So oftentimes when I say "the universe" in a personifying way, I'm also referring to God.*

And in that same vein, I've never grasped prayer as a few pretty words mumbled with bowed heads. A true prayer is a strong feeling that comes from the heart; A cry for help, an inexpressible joy, a marvel at the beauty all around. Prayers that are wordless. Which is not to call worded prayers meaningless; Words can be tools to help us understand ourselves, but God/the universe was already aware of what we had to say before we did.

I do have a point, there is a summary to all this philosophical waxing, I promise.

Following those two thoughts, I've never "prayed" for myself. At least not for help. Could I use some large scale help sometimes? Probably. But I'm pretty well off, all things considered. I've got all that I need in my life to get by. I save my prayers for the things I cannot possibly accomplish alone: Keeping safe the ones I love.

Even with this, I don't pray constantly. I don't need assistance to feed my broke friends, give them a couch to crash on or a listening ear. Humans can pretty much take care of each other when we're willing to try. But there are things I can't do, things out of my reach.

When my sweetest friend, the muse, told me something(in strictest of confidence, so get ready for some prime vaguosity) he's going through, praying was all I could do. Literally, that's all I can do, besides telling him to stay safe. It's frustrating.

So today, my heart is open. My soul is letting out a prayer to watch out for that boy. Guide him, keep him, and make everything work out alright. In the words of a popular 90's kid's movie, "let no bad happen."

And let me know if I can help.



*For the record, my interpretation specifically includes the existence of aliens.