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 April 11, 2025 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
In what I call a spirituality of seeing, a pattern emerges, of looking out in order to see what is within. For example, if you imagine someone you admire, and allow your favorite quality about them to reflect back at you, it is likely that the very same quality that you are attracted to is already nascent within you, calling out to be developed more fully. Another similar expression of this pattern is the maxim, “your intention follows your attention.” So for example, if you focus your attention on noticing goodness, the habit of seeking and finding it builds up your ability to actually manifest goodness.
Therefore, when the ancient forms of prayer that are handed on from each generation to the next, teach us to seek and find peace, goodness, truth, light, and love, the prayer forms help us to hone our attention on the things that then hold good intentions. The activity of praying from ancient lineages, praying in community with others, and praying in your home with friends and family, serves as a “holding container” of intention toward the good. Intention follows attention.
The power of prayer is palpable in this dynamic pattern. The force that guides our honed attention toward the holding of good intentions is real. It leads to action, and real actions transform the world. May our attention be strong, may our intentions be bold, and may our actions be real. May our honed attention in prayer hold out for good intentions in the world that tip the scales in favor of powerful actions, transforming reality through healing toward wholeness!
