“almost the only scoffers at prayer are those who never tried it enough.” – 12 & 12

Not being religious, I was a scoffer for many, many years. One day, I said to my father, who was also in recovery at the time, “How do I believe in God? I want what others have, I just can’t believe.”

He suggested I pray each morning and evening. When I told him I could do it, but doing so would be sacrilegious, he suggested I try being sacrilegious for a week and see if I felt any differently. I asked him “How should I pray?”, and he said, “Simply saying thanks aloud for those things you are grateful for is a good start.”

Though I doubted deeply, I began the ritual the next day, feeling a bit silly and uncomfortable. What happened was that I started feeling better, happier. It took about 3 days of this for me to come to believe that this practice was something that worked for me.

Since that time, over 20 years ago, I have never stopped praying. A non-religious man that has a relationship with a Higher Power he doesn’t really understand and ritualistically prays each morning and evening. Yep, that’s me.

Prayer makes each one of my days considerably more enjoyable. It’s that simple. It’s my time to plug in emotionally and spiritually, and gratitude is the electricity that flows through and around me.

Were, or are you, a scoffer like me? Let me know.

I’m JamesQ and ILML!