St. Ephraem said, "Prayer suppresses anger." Good idea? Bad idea? You Tell Me

Dear Yin Weaver,

I asked this question on my Fan Page (OK, Like Page. Still feels like a downgrade).  Apparently anger is one tough emotion to handle, because my question got a lot of attention.  The reflections are all listed below, but I'd like to hear more.  So I thought I'd make it an official blog, and see who else wants to weigh in on the question.

I'll throw in the definition of the word "supress" here to get you thinking, as that seemed to be the "hot button" word in St. Ephraem's comment. 

1.to put an end to the activities of (a person, body of persons, etc.): to suppress the Communist party.

2.to do away with by or as by authority; abolish; stop (a practice, custom, etc.).

3.to keep in or repress (a feeling, smile, groan, etc.).

4.to withhold from disclosure or publication (truth, evidence, a book, names, etc.). ... See More

5.to stop or arrest (a flow, hemorrhage, cough, etc.).

6.to vanquish or subdue (a revolt, rebellion, etc.); quell; crush.

Clearly, St. Ephraem lived before the invention of psychotherapy. But perhaps by "supress" he didn't mean a simple denial of anger, which is bound to backfire. I like to think he meant to stop or arrest your anger before it erupts like a lava flow, or a hemmorhage (see definition five). After all, anger at injustice well-expressed can change the world. Look at Ghandi.

Here's what all my fans (ok, my likers) had to say:

Susan Hargreaves Parker said:

Seems like a good thing to me, changes your outlook on life. Isn't that one reason we pray?

Karin Evans said:

I'd prefer to think that prayer offers us a possibility to release anger, gently.

Mary Lou Carta said:

Suppressing anger is not a good thing. The anger is still there. I think a better prayer would be to be able to understand the source of our anger and how to handle it in a Christian manner. Don't forget that there is such a thing as righteous anger. Consider Jesus and the money changers in the temple. I would say that he was past upset.

Rand Gholson said:

I feel if the prayer is directed towards suppressing anger, that is the likely outcome, then what do you do with the suppressed(compressed) anger? However if the prayer is directed towards manifesting freedom from anger and its relatives, wouldn't it be more likely that it is released and a more benevolent energy can be chosen to take it's place?

Clara de Luna (dontcha love that name?) said:

When prayer is an activity of expressing gratitude {either aloud with others, or in solitude} it most certainly does release us of some negative energy.

Susan Hargreaves Parker said:

I vote for No. 5, to stop or arrest, as in if the flow of angry feelings are likened to a hemorrhage or as destructive as a cough might be.

Lisa Davis said: 

Prayer is a conversation with God.....if that takes away your anger, then I say, PRAY ON!

And what about you?  What do you say?

Blessings,
Rose

What's Your Crown Chakra Story? Write your autobiography here...

Dear Yin Weaver,

Here's today's Crown Chakra story question.  Take a few minutes to share your memories here. 

Think of your earliest experience of prayer – who taught you to pray – who explained what God is or isn’t.

Hmmm.  My earliest memories of praying are being tucked into bed by my mother and taught to recite, "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  That prayer worried me a lot.  I can remember asking my mother what the chances were of--you know--dying before I woke. 

Who explained God to me?  I have a memory from when I was five years old.  I was running around the back yard playing tag with the neighbors and my brothers.  Suddenly, for reasons I can't begin to explain, I ran into the house and plowed into my mother's knee (she was having coffee with a friend), with this question burning to be asked, "What's the difference between omniscience and omnipresent?"  My mother paused a moment and then said, "Well, omniscience means God knows everything.  Omnipresent means God is everywhere."  As she spoke these words I had a vivid image in my mind's eye of the world being a neat patchwork quilt of homes next to which stood all the moms, dads and children.  Over each head a tiny candle flame was burning.  God was everywhere.  God knew everyone.  Made perfect sense to me, and thus satisfied with my impromptu theology lesson, I raced back outside for another game of tag. 

You?

Blessings,
Rose