I recently read a quote by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr that got me to thinking about the role of laughter and humor in our spiritual lives.  It is a short quote but packed with meaning.

Humor is a prelude to faith and
Laughter is the beginning of prayer

Have you ever thought about starting your prayer to our loving Father with a joke or a silly story?  Maybe telling Him about an event in your life that left you holding your sides with glee?  We have been trained since childhood to be serious, reserved and thoughtful in our prayer lives.  However, I think that God enjoys a good laugh as much as we do.

Laughter is such a mysterious behavior.  It can strike at any time, sometimes embarrassing you, sometimes breaking the tension of a meeting, sometimes setting everyone at ease.  Aren’t these situations that can occur when you take your prayer requests to God?

As Stephen Ministers, we deal with very serious situations.  In our bi-monthly Continuing Education sessions, we begin and end our training with a joke and comics from the local newspaper.  We usually listen to the joke and then we pray.  During our learning time, the topics are deep and sometimes difficult to grasp.  Breaking the tension with some levity helps us to release the pressure that may be present and may block our learning experience.

Laughter can also help to bond people together.  Last week, while playing a game of Mahjongg, I called for a tile, saying “I’ll call a flower.”  One of the other players started to laugh almost hysterically saying “call-a-flower! Call-a-flower.  Get it?”  We burst into a big hardy laugh that lasted for several minutes before we could back to the game.  I cannot explain to you why that was funny, but we all laughed in unison and continued to enjoy the comradeship of the evening.

Why not develop a relationship with God, who loves you unconditionally, that contains humor and fun?  We bring weighty items to the prayer table, let’s lighten them up and look forward to the time we spend with God in prayer.

Terri