In
"," Emerson regards the prayers of most people, which are prayers of petition for
worldly goods or favors, to be "vicious." These prayers are wrong-headed, in his
opinion, because they rest on the assumption of a dualism between God and humans. In this
thinking, God is a benefactor, up in heaven, separate from us. As Emerson puts it:
But prayer as a means to effect a private end is meanness and theft.
It supposes dualism and not unity in nature and consciousness.
Actually, Emerson says, God is within us. We are united with God. Therefore, our
prayers should be expressed through our actions, not our words. When a farmer, for instance,
kneels in a garden bed to weed it, he is kneeling in prayer. When a rower kneels in his boat to
pull the oars, this is prayer. When we show our oneness with God and our awareness of seeing
life and...
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