So I was stumbling around Wikipedia as I often do, and I came across the idea of prayer ropes. Wikipedia defines them as:
"a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool or silk, that is used by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics to count the number of times they have prayed the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
I really liked this idea, but it seemed too wrapped up in Law and religion for me.
I had a revelation a few weeks ago, when I first came across prayer ropes, that religious, ritualistic practices come from two attitudes. One attitude is more malicious than the other, these practices are like indulgences or the Spanish Inquisition. They come from the same attitude as putting someone down, so you can feel better about yourself or just like any other manipulative, exploitative things. The second comes from a practice that worked for someone at sometime to bring them closer to Our Father. They institutionalize it because it worked for a group of people, just like modern "worship music" or "men's breakfasts". And for some churches they work, please don't get me wrong. But all things done by one church don't nessicarily work for the entire Church.
The idea of having a counting method while praying is appealing to me though. I can turn off my brain, go to the simplest sense: touch for direction, and completly let my heart flow. Holding the rope helps me focus and I know that once I go through the big knots I have prayed for about 40 things. The little bit of structure allows me to train my sinful flesh to converse with my Holy Father. Also, it is a stylish braclet that can be and is for me a reminder (that I welcome) to pray.
If you want one, I am making and selling them for five dollars to help raise money for the trip. Just send me an email and I'll get right to it.
heyy, i want a prayer rope.
🙂