Truth, Prayer, Identity and the Spiritual Journey

Truth is something to be, not something to know.

We are in the midst of an enormous cultural and spiritual divide in the United States and throughout the world. Every side claims it is the defender of truth and their prayers are the ones that God hears and answers. It is a fight over identity and the values and ideals that make us into human beings who God has made in the likeness of the Divine. Unfortunately, most people have little idea of what spiritual truth, prayer, and identity are all about.

Aristotle had claimed that human beings were involved in three basic activities: making, doing, and knowing. When we make, we want to make what is beautiful; when we do, we want to do what is good, and when we know, we want to know what is true. We have inherited Aristotle's concept of truth as simply something to know, but when Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," he is referring to a way to be rather than something to know and believe.

Spiritual being is about an identity that we realize through prayer. Prayer, in its ultimate form is not about words that petition God for future blessings and offer thanks for past blessings, but a place we go to to be alone with God. If we make a habit of visiting that place, we start to identify with who we are in God rather than who we are in the world. Spiritual transformation into a more divine way to be begins by changing our thinking about truth, prayer, and identity.

Regardless of your cultural or religious background, Danaher provides a clear and readable guide to a deeper spiritual life.