Adam Cleaveland, a progressive Chrisitan blogger who I’ve been reading lately, posted a question about “What is Prayer.” The initial definitions were very standard Christian definitions. It defined a religionous world-view that is more passive and sits back and just waits for God to do something. As a follower of a more embodied religious world-view, needless to say that doesn’t work for me really well.
At the end of his post, he defined prayer as:
Prayer is any activity that allows humanity to enter into a sacred space; a space where Spirit can speak, Christ can heal and God can transform.
This is a definition that I could use. I’d remove the name Christ, because that’s not part of my theology, but other than that – it’s spot on. The form of prayer I often practice is often challenged by people and they ask me why I use the word magick, if it’s prayer. But this is what it’s all about. It’s a form of prayer that allows me to create a space where things can be transformed by the Divine. The difference is that it’s an intentionally co-creative act, where I am acting as a channel for the Divine energy that infuses everything towards a particular end. I use the word magick to differentiate it from the more passive form of prayer. Magick isn’t just about opening your heart – it’s about showing that you are not only willing to ask for what you want, but also willing to work for it. That’s a big difference in world-view from many people.
I don’t believe it’s enough to pray. I don’t believe it’s enough to open your heart. What are you willing to do? The Divine works through human hands so often. That’s what our sacred scriptures teach us. The story of Exodus shows that the Divine worked through the hands of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to free the Hebrews from Slavery. It shows that the Divine worked through Bezalel to build the tabernacle. It shows that the Divine worked through all the people to gather supplies.
Belief isn’t enough. Love isn’t enough. Action is required. Magick is prayer in action, but even it isn’t enough. Magick is a beginning, which needs to be followed up by more action.
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