Prayer

We talk about it in church

as if we have somehow mastered it;

as if we have ridden and explored

the perimeters of its pastures,

clearly marking its limits

with our fence posts and barbed wire,

or at least with our signposts.

The truth, however, is that we couldn't

envelope it in a lifetime,

even if we rode hard every day.

We'd have better success 
defining all the hues in nature,

than wrapping our heads and words

around prayer's vast expanse.

Let us take a different tack

this season of Lenten reflection.

Instead of seeking to define prayer

or attempting to add another

practice of it to our lives,

 let us set our hearts and minds,

instead, on recognizing all of the ways

our daily lives ARE prayer.

Notice the many ways

that conversation and interaction,

observation and even distraction

are actually among the many faces

of prayer reflected in daily life.

Let us resolve, not to practice

a new form or style,

but instead to identify prayer's

multifaceted presence already

woven into our ordinary extraordinariness.

There's no need to plant, cultivate,

and water exotic varieties

if we haven't even lived and tasted

the volunteers all around us.

© 2013 Todd Jenkins