In Buddhism, practicing the teaching of the Buddha is the highest form of prayer. The Buddha said, “If someone is standing on one shore and wants to go to the other shore, he has to either use a boat or swim across. He cannot jus pray, ‘Oh, other shore, please come over here for me to step across!’” To a Buddhist, praying without practicing is not a real prayer. - Thich Nhat Hanh

I think the thing that has captured my attention about Buddhist philosophy is that unlike Christianity it is a faith of action and sacrifice rather than a faith of belief and self-preservation. The theology of traditional Christianity is plagued by its lack of action. As a Christian I spent most of my life thinking that the best thing I could do is try and persuade God to solve the problems of the world by praying the right way or the right amount of times. The combination of this view of God as sovereign and all-powerful along with its eschatological views about the inevitable literal destruction of the world and miraculous salvation of a select few has created a mass of people unmotivated to take action. That was not always the case. Paul’s writings in the New Testament are filled with ideas of cultivating the type of character traits that Jesus encouraged and building the community that Jesus called the kingdom of God.

When it comes to fixing our own problems and meeting our own needs we seem to have no trouble taking action. We work hard to feed our own families and even mock people that can’t. We take to the polls to vote for candidates that will help us prosper and protect our own interests and lifestyle. But when it comes to caring for the starving children of the world or protecting the lives of people outside of our own borders, we feel the best thing we can do is offer up a few prayers. We use our theology as an excuse to avoid responsibility. When we convince ourselves that God is in complete control and is responsible for everything then we no longer need to be responsible. Like Pilate, we wash our hands of thier blood and leave it up to God, but we forget that God has clearly placed the responsibility in our hands. The message of Jesus is that we are not subject to the violent judgement of an angry God, but that he has given us the means to build a new community of justice and peace here on earth and we must make it a reality for men and women of all social standing.

Can we really call our prayers for peace sincere if we turn around and vote for candidates that make war and the preparation for war a priority? How can we sincerely pray for people in poverty when the majority of our charitable contributions are going to churches that then spend it on our own entertainment and our own spiritual health? How can we sincerely pray for the orphans of the world and not open our homes to them? How can we pray for the families of the world and not support legislation and govenrment budgets that help families survive.

I now see prayer as a starting point of self-motivation rather than and ending point of responsibility. Prayer should be a statement of our intent not a plea for God’s intervention. Our prayers will not suddenly wake God up from a slumber, convince him to change his course of action, or bring something to his attention that he had until now overlooked. However, our prayers can be a time of correction of our own priorities. Prayer cannot motivate God but it can be powerful motivation and redirection for us. I hear that message in Jesus instruction for how to pray. The Lord’s prayer is an example of how to use prayer to be a statement of commitment to sacrifice and motivation through a submission to God’s will.

Lately I have a deep conviction and regret that I’ve not actually let my faith lead my public actions. I have to confess that I’ve not been living a sincere life in the spirit of Christ. It is interesting that it took a couple of Buddhist monks to teach me the importance of becoming the body of Christ and not just admiring and worshipping the person of Christ.

When I pray "God let your will be done" I am not suggesting that God take my advice and begin doing things his way. I'm making a statement that I will begin doing God's will.