Praying
By Brenda O’Dell of Kearney, MO, USA
….so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for and find God—though indeed the Divine is not far from each one of us. For “In God we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we too are God’s offspring.” —Acts 17:27–28 NRSV, adapted
Let me be
still and silent,
focused
until I find you, O God,
at my center and beyond.
Set my heart and thoughts
aflame with loving intensity
like a ball of ignited energy
rolling along the strands
of the cosmic grid.
Gather and pull
love and peace and healing
down the web of pathways
which connects each one.
Light up each neon strand
with multicolored brilliance
bursting at each intersection
into fireworks of reconnection.
Glow and throb
with the energies
of your love and grace,
and joy and peace,
Aurora Borealis divine!
Floating on, enveloped by
the loving presence of
The One
Creator and Sustainer
Source and Destination
“In whom we live and move and have our being”
whose energy crackles and sizzles
along electric wires
in the labyrinth of life.
Alpha and Omega,
vibrating and humming,
help us find our way
into each other’s hearts
in compassionate connection.
Prayer for Peace
Thank you, God, for poets who create for us images “formed by the art and imagination…” (Acts 17:29).
Spiritual Practice: Psalm Writing
The psalms are prayers of honesty and trust. The psalmist trusts God’s presence in times of fear and failure, joy and plenty, growth and change. Write a short psalm-prayer expressing to God the truth about your physical, emotional, and spiritual state. Or rewrite a Psalm that speaks to you using your own words. What are your deepest feelings, longings, and needs? What prayer of praise, intercession, or petition flows from you as you consider your life and the life of God’s world?
Peace Covenants
Today, God, I will be still, silent, and focused…until I find you.
