The Prayer Thread is a collection of teachings and practical prompts to help as we learn to pray in community. This text was originally delivered on September 7th, 2022 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
Sometimes, it is hard to pray.
The times when prayer is hard often coincide with the times when life is hard. The weight of life, and prayer, comes in piles: I cannot seem to muster up enough energy to do prayer. I cannot focus enough to pray. I do not know enough about how to pray. I cannot find enough time to pray consistently. My desire to pray is not strong enough to overcome my willfulness.
Indeed, when the weight of life bears down hard, it can be hard to pray. Yet, prayer is precisely the antidote to the plague of “not enough” in life. Sitting before God, even when prayer is hard, is always enough. Prayer, even when hard, pulls us out of ourselves and toward the More.
In God, energy is infinite. In God, focus finds its way. In God, knowing is everyday wisdom. In God, there is always more time and no time. In God, desire flows abundantly.
Slowly but surely, the weight of the plague of not enough drifts away like a cloud. The heaviness in the weight of the cloud comes and goes.
Life is not always easy, and life is not always hard. When the weight is heavy and the prayer is hard, it is enough to simply seek the companionship and presence of the Holy one. No fanciness is necessary. Just waiting together through the weight of life, in prayer—even when it is hard—is enough.
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