Being Connected

My parents were practicing Christians for which I am grateful. From an early age they took me to church on Sundays and I learned to pray. At home, as a child, I also prayed each night before I went to sleep.
By the time I reached my late teens the hypocrisy I encountered within the church – most noticeably the very unchristian attitudes of some members of the congregation - led to my complete disenchantment with organised religion. I no longer attended church services and for better or worse went my own way.
Many years passed and there came a time when my prayers seemed hollow. They were just a collection of words or ideas. They seemed meaningless and ineffectual – which caused me to reflect on the way things used to be.
Happily, because I had the early experience of prayer, I could remember how it felt to pray when I was a small child. The remembrance of this brought me to the realisation that the feeling I remembered was the feeling you get when you are truly connected.
Sounds crazy I know – but somehow along the way I had lost sight of this most fundamental element of prayer.
Now, when I feel the desire to give thanks or to pray for assistance the first thing I do is make that connection.