When thinking of prayer, most of us think of the traditional images of someone down on their knees in supplication. Is that, however, the only way to pray. Does God, or the Gods, really want us as supplicants, or do they want us as partners in creating and maintaining our lives? Are we really at the mercy of the Gods, or do we put ourselves in that position? Is praying for the Divine to intervene really the most effective way, or would it not be better to pray for the Divine’s assistance in our own work to change our lives in a better way?

This is something that, quite honestly, I’ve been trying to figure out. I personally believe in doing what I can for myself, and asking for help in my own work, but I see so many people out there that think the other way. I get frustrated by those that think of the Divine as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. They think that the Divine is going to shower them with all the good things they want, if they are only good enough. When something goes right, the Gods get all the credit, but failure goes to them alone.

Why is that? What’s the purpose of dismissing your own efforts? How does that honor the Divine that creates and sustains you?

When I speak of passion, I’m not talking about sex. Sex is one way of finding passion, and the Gods are honored when we love, passionately, those we choose as partners in life. Physical passion is, however, a very limited thing. When I speak of passion, I’m talking about all of those things in life that make us happy, all of those things that excite us when we do them. From art to cooking to study, when undertaken with the right mindset, all of these things are a form of prayer.

In the Charge of the Goddess, written by Doreen Valiente, we find these words: For behold: all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.

When I first read this, I was struck by the awesomeness of them. This meant, for me, that all things I do, if I do them for pleasure or with love, are rituals. They’re acts of passion, given to those I care about, and the Gods, and are forms of worship. This makes me, not some supplicant, begging a boon from a being far greater than I, but a co-creator in my own world, my own destiny.

Talk about power to change my own life! This is the magic of living. To know that you aren’t just a chess piece being moved around a board, but a free being, able to decide for yourself the correct course.

Your life isn’t an exercise in waiting; it’s an exercise in doing. If all you’re going to do is hang around, waiting for the Divine to give something to you, you might as well just stop trying. It’s not going to happen. The Divine isn’t going to just give you anything that you don’t value enough to work for or put effort into.

Get off your asses. Live, laugh, love, and do those things in a way that shows not only passion, but trust. If you’re going to say that you trust the Divine, then why aren’t you acting like it?? Why aren’t you acting with passion and doing what you love, trusting that you can create, with the Divine, the things that you want??

Why are you so lazy about your faith??