Sarah Goldsmith- Decentering (Phenomenology of Prayer)

In reading the Phenomenology of Prayer, I learned about how prayer is intended to decenter oneself. Growing up in Catholic elementary school I never learned deep theoretical concepts involving prayer, instead I learned about prayers like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Guardian angel prayer. Eventually, I learned about "freestyle prayer.'' These were prayers I could make up, but they still followed a formula: praise, thanks, confession, petition, and intersession. A good prayer contained all of these components. However, the book draws attention to Sammuel in the bible as an example of a true prayer.
Samuel when called by God responds, but not with the formulaic prayers. Merold Westphal, the author of this chapter writes, "His (sammuel's) brief response is simply to indicate that he is ready for God to speak again" (19). This prayer is not about Samuel, it is about God. Sammuel decentered himself. The idea of decentering is not only important for spiritual life, but also for mental health.
There is a reason why volunteering is recommended for those who struggle with anxiety. The focus of the task at hand is not the self. Viewing prayer as a method of decentering does not come easily to me especially growing up with ridgid, structured, yet beautiful prayers. However, when I'm in prayer and I find myself praying from a marginal state. I know that I have entered a true prayer of relationship and communion with the Lord.

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