There are
many possible and permissible prayer postures and positions. The Bible depicts
people standing, kneeling, and flat on their faces. Bowed heads, closed eyes,
and folded hands seem important to us nowadays. Some families hold hands for
table grace; whether to display love and unity or to keep young Petey from
flinging mashed potatoes at sister Patty, I don’t know.
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| Prayer Braid |
At our
prayer retreat a few weeks ago, we learned we could pray while walking a
labyrinth (or anywhere), coloring, or kneading clay. I found the braiding prayer
most meaningful. While intertwining three varied strips of cloth, I prayed for myself,
my husband, our relationship with each other, and our relationship with God
together. Ironically, the God cloth turned out to be shorter than the husband
and wife cloths, so at the bottom of a strong braid, two untethered fabrics
were left hanging, disconnected from each other and the center.
Most of my
praying currently takes place in a Purple PT Cruiser in between home and school
five mornings a week. Don’t worry—I keep my eyes open and my hands on the
steering wheel. And if you’re my student or my coworker, you’ve got to be
relieved that I’ve had both prayer and coffee before arriving at school. I
could be much, much worse.
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| http://www.catholicicing.com/pretzels-for-lent/ |
But this
morning in Sunday School, after we shared concerns and the pastor said, “Let’s
pray,” my hands and arms formed the pretzel position, perhaps because I was
chilly. I’d heard that pretzels were shaped that way to teach children what to
do with their hands while praying. The History Channel website includes that
legend and explains more:
Though the exact origins of the pretzel remain mysterious,
legend has it that the story began around A.D. 610, when Italian monks
presented their young students with treats of baked dough twisted in the shape
of crossed arms. At the time, crossing one’s arms was the traditional posture
for prayer. [It was chilly in those stone monasteries, too!] As the custom
spread through medieval Europe, the pretzel’s three holes came to represent the
Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and the twisty baked good became
associated with good luck, long life and prosperity. (
http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/the-pretzel-a-twisted-history)
I like the
Trinity connection, but admit to skepticism about good luck, long life, and
prosperity. From a pretzel? Maybe a chocolate dipped pretzel. Not that I’d turn down good luck, long life, and prosperity. Or a chocolate dipped pretzel.
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| A product of my adopted state |
The History
Channel article also reveals that German immigrants brought pretzels to
Pennsylvania in 1710, and today my adopted state** produces eighty percent of
made-in-the-U.S.A. pretzels. One of the more than sixty pretzel makers in
Pennsylvania is Snyder’s of Hanover, founded in 1909.
Theirs was
the first name that came to mind this morning when I realized I was praying
like a pretzel. So they get some free advertising, and hopefully they’re not offended
by prayer and they’re not going to report my blog to the ACLU. (Although, any publicity is good publicity.)
After my
overly lengthy introduction, I will now tell you what I realized while praying
like a pretzel this morning:
Prayer is
like a warm hug from God.
* First, let me acknowledge the founder of the All I Really
Need to Know format, Robert Fulghum, who learned it all in Kindergarten.
* Secondly, in addition to Snyder’s of Hanover, I have
learned much about prayer from Mr. Roberts, the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, church, and
several books. Most recently, I studied the
Red Letter Prayer Life by Bob Hostetler with a small group of church
friends, and I highly recommend it.
**My native state produces one hundred percent of all the Shriver's Salt Water Taffy made in the U.S.A. I highly recommend it, too.
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| A product of my native state |
When
we pray, God can finish our sentences, even the garbled, wordless ones. But we
have to start.
