In the movie "Bruce Almighty" (Universal Pictures, 2003), Bruce Nolan, played by Jim Carrey, is having a lousy day. Bruce was denied a promotion, then lost his job. Afterward, he was beaten up while trying to defend a homeless man. Next, he went home and had an argument with his girlfriend, Grace.
Bruce leaves in frustration, going for a drive. During the drive, he is talking to God. He angrily says, "Okay, God, you want me to talk to you? Talk back. Tell me what's goin' on." He asks God to tell him what to do. Bruce wants a signal.
Suddenly, a road sign up ahead flashes "CAUTION." Bruce ignores it. Bruce prays for guidance, for a sign. Suddenly, an open-bed truck passes him, loaded with road warning signs saying "stop," "caution," and "yield." Bruce sees the signs but does not see they are in response to his prayer.
Bruce sees a set of prayer beads his girlfriend wanted him to use. He says that he will try it that way. He drops the beads. When reaching for them, Bruce loses sight of the road. When he sits up again, he finds he is headed right into a lamppost. He crashes.
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Prayer is not a monologue; prayer is a dialogue. Through prayer, we participate in the divine alchemy whereby, if receptive, we will see the answers arriving in the ordinary events of everyday life. We may not hear a voice - likely will not; the response will come through something signifying the reply.
By trusting, we remain alert to the signs. Mindfulness is being attentive, awake. You are not straining to see; you are open and allowing receptivity naturally to be present, for your natural way-of-being is openness, receptivity, invitation. By nature, you are welcoming presence.
The question is always, finally, not "Will the signs come?" The question is, "Will we be attentive to the signs when they do come?"
Have you been praying for something? What is that prayer? Now, look into your life. Ask, "What might have happened or be happening that is a sign signifying a reply?" Do you recall a time when you noticed such a sign through an ordinary occurrence in your daily life?
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*©Brian K. Wilcox, 2023
*Use of photography is allowed accompanied by credit given to Brian K. Wilcox and title and place of photographs.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.
