Soaking in Silent Prayer, Part 2

“Seasoned practitioners of silent prayer, particularly if they have experienced the Prayer of Quiet and the Prayer of Union, sometimes find that as soon as they sit down with the intention to pray, the One they are praying to seems to be there listening. They become aware of feelings of tender love and faith and a deepening of their most cherished resolutions.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)

All week I’ve been thinking about the soaking prayer blog entry I wrote last time, and I thought you might be interested in my favorite Sunday School story about soaking in silent prayer.

Nine years ago I used to teach 4th-6th grade students about prayer during the Sunday School opening time each week. We tried lots of different kinds of prayers, but my favorite one was the soaking prayer. Sometimes we would soak up God’s love, light, and healing for ourselves and other times we would soak for people who needed to feel God’s presence. Even now Sunday School teachers tell me what a lesson it was for them that the children took so easily to prayer time and how quiet the room got when we were soaking.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the United States was faced with terrible destruction and loss of life after four attacks from hijacked airplanes. Many of you will remember news footage of the World Trade Center Twin Towers being crashed into by jets and then burning down. Other news reports showed a gaping hole where a plane hit the Pentagon and the wreckage of an airplane full of passengers that crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The whole country was in mourning, and I wondered what kind of prayer would be best for the children when we came together on Sunday. I finally decided a soaking prayer would be a good choice.

“Who could use God’s love, light and healing today?” I asked as we prepared to pray about the tragic events. Hands went up around the room, and the excited children had lots of ideas. It’s been a long time since that Sunday morning, but I remember they mentioned the people who died, the family and friends of the people who died, and the helpers who were looking for people who were buried in the rubble. There were other ideas I don’t remember right now, but I do remember that I was hoping for an answer I wasn’t sure I’d get. After everyone had shared, that answer still had not been given…“Is there anyone else to pray for?” I asked.

One boy in the back of the room raised his hand, and I called on him. “I think we should pray for the people who got paid to fly the planes into the buildings,” he said.

“Yes,” I said. “I think it might be good if we included them, too.”

So we bowed our heads, closed our eyes, and sent God’s love, light and healing to the ones who needed it.

Teresa writes that during silent prayer the One we are praying to seems to be there listening. I believe very strongly that some of the children would understand her words about what prayer does for those who pray: "They become aware of feelings of tender love and faith and a deepening of their most cherished resolutions.” I am so thankful that our Sunday School classes practiced silent prayer, and I am hopeful that some of the children have used the soaking prayer since then when they have faced times of hardship and need.