Prayer Drama

(prepost warning: not for the religiously intolerant. If you think this post' s not for you, come back again after a few days. I will not reply to half-assed and ungrounded messages about this topic. Kthx.)

So I've been told at school that prayer's a conversation between you and God. Like you're His son/daughter and he's your Pops, in a couch, having a talk. And He's always good. And He provides. Summing the teachings about Him up, He's supposed to be perfect.

A perfect dad to talk to.

Simple concept, but there' s one thing I don't get.

Why is it that almost everybody I've seen praying have these looks on their faces that are: sad, frustrated, desperate, crying, peaceful as a rock in the middle of the forest. Why is it that people never really smile or laugh?

I mean, whenever I talk to my great parents, most of the time I'm smiling. Sure, there're other times I might have a different facial expression but most of the time it's always smiles. And they're not even perfect. What more if you're like talking to a perfect parent, right?

Is it because we only pray about things we want to whine and bitch about? I wouldn't really know what people are praying for. Most people who do tell me what they prayed about though never fail to use the term "pray for". Maybe it's just me but don't you find that least bit strange how we almost always think of prayer as "requesting" for things when we're at the same time annoyed/pissed at people who only talk to us when they need something?

So maybe God stopped getting pissed after the Old Testament (the rumble at the temple episode is one exception, because that's His Son laying the smackdown) but that shouldn't be a real reason why we should just keep on asking like He's Santa, everyday's christmas and we're All Saints (not the group) - and then occassionaly lay the blame on the Big Man when we don't get what we want. Reminds me of the line "Wowowee, sinong di mawiwili?"

And I hate that song.

Back to the topic.

Or is it because we were taught to be solemn and stuff when praying? Where did that come from anyway? What's the difference between being solemn and being natural when praying? Will God stop ignoring us when we become noisy? Noisy children get more attention is what my instincts tell me.

I won't keep this long since it's a very uncomfortable topic for a lot of people. Here's my thought. If you really want a good conversation, act natural. If you hate people asking stuff from you like you're a vending machine, stop treating everybody else that way (including those you cannot see or annoy). And if you want your feelings to be acknowledged, don't be afraid to show expression.

And like my mom used to tell me when I was a kid, always say Please and Thank You.

That is all.