Why Wait?

 I hear people say, "I don't want to pray because I don't believe in God."  Now if their lives are a train wreck, completely out of their control, a mess, I suggest to them that they pray anyway.  "Why wait for faith?" I ask.  You really don't have to believe to pray.  Besides, what harm would it do you if your life has bottomed out to seeming helpless and hopeless?  So I don't wait until I feel like meditating, to meditate.  I don't wait until I am ready.  I have learned that if I wait till I am ready, or "feel like it," my life will begin to spiral into bad behavior and bad thinking.  Many times, I don't want to get up for 4:30 AM vigil prayer at this monastery.  But I don't wait for the urge.  I just get up.  Good habits become good habits by doing them regularly.  My body does not wait for my mind to catch up.  So pray.  Forget what you believe at the moment.  Prayer does not kill.  Bad behavior on the other hand can be lethal for many of us.