Opinion: Prayers Speak to Our Inner Selves

A Time of Blended Celebrations

This week, our family with diverse religious traditions found our holidays overlapping. Remarkably, the start of Hanukkah was on Wednesday, coinciding with Christmas Day. In our home, the glow of Hanukkah candles danced alongside our Christmas tree lights.

Interfaith Reflections

While these are distinctly different celebrations, they both illustrate the force of light prevailing in times that often seem overshadowed by darkness.

Hanukkah reveres the tale of a small amount of oil lasting eight nights during the rejuvenation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Similarly, Christmas commemorates a guiding star that led visitors to a humble birthplace in Bethlehem where a child, deemed a king, was born.

The Power of Prayer

Our family engaged in numerous prayers this week. Transitioning from the Hanukkah blessing which praises God for the commandment to light the festival candles, to a Christmas supplication thanking the Lord for miraculous signs: a guiding star, angelic hymns, and the cries of a newborn in a simple manger.

In our family, which embraces a spectrum of beliefs including skepticism, we've reinterpreted the purpose of prayer. Rather than viewing them as requests sent upwards, we see them as reflections directed inward. They serve as reminders of what truly holds meaning. They embody hope for future generations and express our desire to illuminate the world with goodness.