|
|
[1] From Mari we also know also of a statue of King Iku-Shamagon dedicated to the idol of Ninni-zaza of the sanctuary of Mari.[BA, Dec. 1989, p. 211.]
[2] The source shows a limestone relief from Golgoi, said to date from the 4th century BC.
[3] The use of statues for prayer is deeply engrained in many cultures. Many such statues were found in Mesopotamia as those which were used for prayers for Gudea. "The concept of using a statue for a prayer is particularly important for our understanding of votive art. First, it diminishes the importance of the specific features of the worshipper, allowing for sameness or similarity among mass-produced images. Second, it stands behind two fundamental characteristics of votive art - quantity and repetition. Because more is better when it comes to prayer, the worshipper is compelled to repeat the prayer over and over again. Herein lies the power of the word, the belief that the act of saying the word makes it so. Repetition of the word or prayer is a spiritual dynamic practiced across the great world religions, ranging from the Hindu mantra to the rosary and litanies of Catholicism. The votive statue is the tangible, concrete form given to the word; its very presence makes the prayer exist, and its repetition makes the prayer exist even more so. The motivation for the prayer behind the statues were diverse and remain a matter of speculation: a request for intervention; an offering of thanks for requests granted; a manifestation of initiation; a commemoration of some rite of passage. It is likely statues were dedicated for any and all of these reasons. We can be no more specific in attaching intent to votive offerings than we can be in reading the minds and hearts of the devotees who presented them." Ibid., p. 211,212.
Effective prayer according to God's Word teaches to pray out of the fullness of the heart. Such a prayer is never a memorized, ritual prayer, it is one that addresses the circumstances at the time. Biblical prayer presupposes that the praying person exercises faith in the Creator God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.
|
|
Bible Topics