THE FAKE PRAYER

“Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” -Garth Brooks

“I tried praying. It didn’t work.” Have you ever heard someone say this before? Or have you ever personally felt that way? Have you ever felt like you tried praying and being sincere with a higher power but still came up fruitless? Or that you’re being ignored up there? I know I have. No matter what religious beliefs or lack thereof you have, human beings are always being tested one way or another. We all feel at some points in our lives like we’re trying our best and still coming up short. So what do you do? I remember reading actor Christopher Reeve’s biography a few years back. Reeve, who infamously became paralyzed during a horse riding competition, wrote that his faith had understandably wavered since the incident. A friend of his advised him to “fake it till you make it” regarding his prayers. In other words, even if you begin to feel that no one hears you up there, keep praying for your own validation. Personally, I like to take that philosophy a step further. Rather than “faking it,” I’ve started to think of unanswered prayers as affirmations. I’ve been praying a lot lately that my recent case of writer’s block regarding poetry and fiction would end. It hasn’t yet. But I’ll keep saying “please end my writer’s block.” Rather than thinking of it as an unanswered prayer, it becomes an affirmation. An affirmation, by definition, is to plant a psychological seed of fruition rather than something to be answered. Of course that doesn’t mean I don’t pray anymore or that every desire I express is only an affirmation. I just look at what I feel is unanswered from a different perspective. Life will always be up and down. There are times when we’ll feel helpless no matter how optimistic we try to feel. When we can’t change the circumstances is when we modify our perspectives. How do you cope when you feel ignored or unanswered? Do you think changing your point of view could help? Why or why not? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below on our secure servers. If you’re not a member of this site, check out our latest options of joining. Become a lifetime member and open your world up to a myriad of poetry, CNF, books, book reviews, custom-made gifts, several publication opportunities and much, much more. Join today!