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 December 20, 2023 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
One of my favorite lines, in one of my favorite songs, by my all-time favorite singer and composer (Sara Thomsen), is: “O grandmother, are you listening?” In a deep, billowy voice, the line is repeated.
When I listen to the words, they feel both ancient and particular. As my own heart cries out the words, I recall specific images of the particular women who have grandmothered me. Yet I sense that the words not only trace deep back into my lineage when I sing them, but they also go out, wide, in concentric circles, over spans of time and space, through all the mothers and grandmothers. To, and for, all who have called out.
Half-way, through the song, the lyrics shift: “O granddaughter, I am listening.” They repeat, assuring us that when we call out in prayer, not only are our voices received, but we in turn, are also addressed. Our particular cries in space and time reach out, find resonance with, and echo through ancient cries, in words no longer spoken through breath, but recollected still, through Spirit.
The ancient voice of the one crying out in the desert syncs with my own voice today, calling out as I walk over frozen ice. Especially when times are dark and hard, may we trust that all voices, ancient and anew, are heard in ear of the heart of the Holy One.
