Scenes from the Journey: Half-Answered Prayers

Sunday, October 16, 2016

How can you ever tell if a prayer's been answered—

whether half-ly or wholly?

First, there's the time factor.

No one says an answer has to be immediate.

And by the time the answer arrives

(in whole or in part)

you may well have forgotten asking in the first place;

thus you don't recognize it as the answer.

So that's the time factor.

And then there's that other element:

the answer may not be what you expected.

May, in fact, be "no."

So although it is an answer,

you don't recognize it as such.

And thus you might doubt the efficacy

of your prayers.

But prayers are not in vain,

for the answers are not the point.

Whenever you marshal your feelings

and thoughts and dreams and needs

and wishes

(your prayers, in short, for yourself and others),

you send the message to the Universe:

I am here. I see. I am listening.

I am paying attention.

Scenes from the Journey