Questions

The essence of prayer is really

quite simple. At its core, prayer is

a rhythmic reminder that all conversation

is opportunity to both speak to God

and listen for God’s guidance.

All seeking and striving are interactions

between our own wills/understandings,

and God’s creative purposes.

When we turn it into a laundry list,

imploring God to remove all stains

from our emotional wardrobes;

when we use it as a detailed honey-do list

for God to generate our pleasure and happiness;

when we wield it to ward off pain and suffering,

we have missed its purposes altogether.

Imagine finding a pile of precisely mitered

pieces of wood, along with a variety

of tools and fasteners at your disposal.

Was this collection designed

to be connected in a way that

would accomplish some purpose?

If so, what?

When you find yourself attaching one piece

to another, slowly, over the course of many years,

do you dream of what it could one day become?

Do you have a picture of completeness in your mind?

Now imagine yourself coming to the realization

that you know the one who not only

created the pieces of wood and fasteners

that are within your reach and influence,

but also created everything else

that was, is, and will ever be.

What if you had a chance every day –

all day long – to listen for questions

about how you are choosing to connect

the pieces, building something with the collection?

What if you had the opportunity to offer up

what you’ve already constructed to the one

whose grand design is Love itself?

Would you want to know how your pieces

fit with the rest, and how you might rearrange

or reconstruct what you once imagined,

so that it complements all of the rest;

so that your pieces find their way

into the whole, and maybe even the holy?

Yeah, that listening and conversation

are how prayer is designed to function;

opening us to see and be answers

to the deepest questions and needs

planted in the universe’s heart.

© 2013 Todd Jenkins