Phenomenology #1


When deciding what part of the book The Phenomenology of Prayer I wanted to write about, I was brought back to a section which I discussed in the first paper for this class. The section is from the first chapter, and it discusses the facet of prayer. The part which stood out to me (and the author) was the idea of praise. Praise is described as not the praising of God for what he does for you, but the praising of God for who God is. As someone who would not describe themselves as a very religious person, this section made absolutely no sense to me. I could understand the practice of the other facets, but I had no notion of how one could praise God for being God. The way I have grown to interpret this is a form of mindfulness. Not mindfulness in the way of being aware of what is currently around yourself, but of being mindful of the works of God. To reflect and appreciate God for creating such beauty is the way to truly praise God. As stated later in the chapter, “the I is replaced with the We,” meaning this is not an introspective act, but one which considers the magnitude of God’s creation. By looking at it this way I can now see how praise is truly an essential aspect of prayer.

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