The A, B, C of Prayer

Every morning a little girl would visit a temple and stand before the idol. She would close her eyes and, with folded hands, murmur something for a couple of minutes. Then open her eyes, bow down, smiles at the statue of God, and goes out running. This was a daily affair.

The temple priest, observing her, was curious about what she was doing. He believed, she is too young to understand the in-depth meanings of religion, she would barely have knowledge of any type of prayers. People wondered, but then what did she do going to the temple every morning.

A month later, the priest couldn’t resist the pull to find out about her behavior. One morning, he waited for her to complete her ritual. Approaching her, he then placed his hand on her head and said, “My child, I have seen you come here every morning. What do you do?”

“I pray,” the girl replied spontaneously.

“Do you know any prayers?” asked the priest disbelievingly.

“No,” said the girl happily.

“Then what are you doing here every day?” the priest asked.

Very clearly, the girl replied, “I know my A, B, C to X, Y, Z. I rehearse them five times every day and repeat in front of  God that I don’t know any form of prayers. But I also tell him that they cannot be outside of these alphabets. I know God is listening so I ask Him to please arrange the alphabets as He wishes… and that is my prayer.”

Moral of the story: Remember that Prayer starts when human capabilities come to an end. It is always better to put your heart in prayers, even if you have no words to say a prayer. Prayers with words but with no heart are of no use.

About Mark Manuel