Heschel - Prayer as a Song

Every believer would like to live a life of prayer in the midst of each busy day.  One of the starting points involves attitude, which has been the subject of a previous post.

   Behind my house, Mayville, WI,  September 13, 2012. 

The believer must open up to God's presence in the word of God, but also in all things including trees, water and sunsets.   While walking in Riverside Park Abraham Joshua Heschel said, "Did you notice the trees?” 

Heschel was open to the divine presence in these every day encounters.   I have blogged  about the revelation of God who is present in all things.  But beyond that attitude of seeing God in these things,   what about the activity of prayer?

Heschel in an interview said this about prayer:

First of all, let us not misunderstand the nature of prayer, particularly in Jewish tradition. The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose of prayer is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song.   Prayer may not save us, but prayer may make us worthy of being saved. Prayer is not requesting. There is a partnership of God and man.

http://www.philosophy-religion.org/religion_links/aj_heschel.htm    (Interview with NBC news correspondent Carl Stern February 4, 1973).  

What Heschel says speaking in a Jewish context also rings true for us who are Christian as we think of the words of Jesus, and  here again we can't forget that Jesus too was Jewish.   Jesus taught  his friends to pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven,"  a song of praise of the child to the father.   The child has an  intimate "partnership" relationship with God who is father to the one praying.   Jesus goes on to pray, "give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,"  and yes, those are requests, but even the requests come in a spirit  of praise to God to whom we say, "hallowed by thy name."  

Heschel's  idea of prayer as a song helps to bring the Lord's prayer to life for me.

What interferes with prayer?   That will be the subject of the next post.