Why We Believe

            This photograph shows a baseball team praying on the field before a game.  The players are all next to each other, caps off, and heads down.  They are praying to an unknown omnipotent power.  They are asking for a fun and safe game and hopefully a win.  The players are not necessarily religious but since practice alone does not guarantee a win, they also pray.  Ironically and unfortunately, praying does not guarantee a win either.  They do not know if their prayer is actually being heard or if it will be answered.  But since there is no sure way to know, they pray…just in case.   

            This picture is a symbol, not of faith but of hope and the need to believe.  People want to believe that there is some power in the heavens.  When people are having trouble and they have no one to turn to, even if they are not religious, have never prayed and have never stepped a foot in a church, they turn to God. 

            This team wants to win their game.  I am sure they have practiced hard but that alone will not assure them the game, so they pray.  This does not promise them the game either, because they could simply be talking to themselves, and if they are not, their prayer could still go unanswered. 

             I find myself at times, asking God to help me achieve my goals and help me through the difficult times.  I do not feel his presence but I keep on praying…just in case.  I wonder if the good outcomes in my life have anything to do with my prayers or if they would have happened nonetheless.  Just in case…I keep on praying.  From praying I get to know myself better.  I can easily answers questions such as what do I really want, what do I need help with and what are my concerns?           

            Because I grew up in a Catholic family, seeing this photo of a baseball team praying does not surprise me, even though one does not normally see this at a baseball game.  One does not have to be in a church to pray.  One does not even have to be religious.  Everyone prays in their own way.  One can pray in large groups in a church, synagogue, temple etc. or alone in the confines of one’s own home.  The prayer could resemble “Our father who art in heaven…” or “Oh God, please help me!”  One can pray for oneself, or even for others.  Some people are convinced that God is hearing their prayers.  Some people think it is ridiculous but do it anyways, and many are uncertain.

             A few days ago my grandmother asked me to type some prayers for her because the papers they were on were getting worn out.  As I typed I wondered why she would be reading these prayers which were pre-written by a stranger.  Why didn’t she say her own prayers?  Aren’t prayers supposed to be personal?  At least that was what I had decided years ago.

            When I was younger, I went to confessions at my church and after telling a stranger behind a curtain my sins, I was told to say certain prayers a certain amount of times and God would forgive me.  That is interesting, I thought.  How did he know?  Was he sure?  Is their a book with all the sins and their coinciding or appropriate prayers?  I came to the conclusion that I did not need a stranger to tell me what prayers I needed to say.  Praying is a personal way of expressing yourself and getting to know your self better.  It is one’s need to believe that there is a greater force watching over us.  It is not a ritual where one says certain words in a certain arrangement in order to complete something.

            This picture of the baseball team praying, demonstrates humanity’s need for someone more powerful than us to be there for us.  Nations have their political leaders and children have their parents or guardians but when individuals become adults they have but themselves to rely on.  During hard times, when one feels they are without help, one feels the need to believe, so they pray.  They pray because of life’s uncertainty but are uncertain of their prayers.