C is for Calling on the gods.
When you believe in a god, or gods, I think one of the basic ideas behind that belief is that you can ask for help. That you can pray for things like guidance, patience, strength, or prosperity, and Someone will hear you. It’s a comforting thought, that even if no one else in your life is paying attention, They will hear you.
I can’t say that I think that if I pray for prosperity and then go out and buy a lottery ticket, I’m going to end up winning a few million dollars. I can’t even say that I think that if I pray every day for my mom’s physical health that she’ll make a miraculous recovery and be saved from her far too early decline in life.
Some people might wonder then, well, what good is asking for help if you’re not going to get it, or you don’t believe that you’re going to?
I suppose I just take something else away from praying. I enjoy those moments that are just between myself and my gods, knowing that They are there and hearing my words and caring about me. In a community sense, it makes my burdens less to know that others are listening to my request for prayers for those I love, or even for myself. To know that again, someone is hearing my words, and it matters.
That’s not to say that I don’t believe in Divine Intervention. I most certainly do. Those moments when my mom surfaces from her pain and is well enough to spend the day with me, talking and laughing. When I can take her out of the house, even if it’s just for a taco bell burrito, I know They’re there. They may not grace me with a winning lottery ticket, but perhaps my monthly bills will decrease enough to allow me some extra spending money, or that thing I wanted so badly but couldn’t afford will come as a gift from someone I love. It’s those small things that enrich my life, and make the day to day just a little bit easier.
I don’t call on the gods, or request prayers, expecting a miracle. I just want to know that I’m heard, that I’m cared for, both by my gods, and by my friends and family. Anything else is just a bonus.
See this is also what i think. In the Kemetic system it is generally believed* that the Names are not all powerful and not much higher then ourselves. They are also in a constant struggle to keep the world from falling back into the Nun and stopping Isf/et winning. Hence, it might be a case them not having the time or ability at that moment to help you with your wish, or that in the scale of things its not that important. In a strange way i find the second one comforting, it kind of puts things in perspective..