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 March 2, 2022 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
The late Mary Darnall, long-time member of the House of Prayer, was known to say at poignant times, “What we do here every week matters. It makes a difference. The reverberations of our prayer go out across the world and throughout the universe.”
When facing big crises such as the beginning of a war or the death of an innocent, people often ask, what good does prayer do? In the face of overwhelming circumstances, we are often forced into the temptation of doubt about whether our prayers are really heard, or if they actually make a difference.
In hard times, we prefer clear-cut answers and solutions over desperation and overwhelm, clarity over Mystery. The certitude that a particular ultimate being will take care of things for us, will reward us or protect against them, if only we ask in the proper way or make the right sacrifice, is a real temptation.
However, in light of our current knowledge about the deep relationality of energy and matter, of entangled atoms communicating across time and space, as well as widespread dwindling certitude about the infallibility of Santa-clause and King theologies, an increasing number of seekers are tapping into a sense of prayer as a palpable, real force in the world, an undercurrent upholding the very River of Life.
If I can place my foot in the stream and hold a posture of peace within myself and for the sake of others, I can not only participate in the larger field of prayer that encircles others who are suffering across the world, but I can also make a real contribution towards the larger force within the Body of Christ, one member among many, who really makes a difference through taking on the qualities of Holy One who ceaselessly creates healing and wholeness on our behalf.
