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 7, 2025 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
On any given day, things do not turn out how we would wish. During many seasons of life, things seem far more for the worse than for the better. At times in history, a whole generation will face life as if it were all loss. Recognizing Reality as it is, we give thanks for the gift of prayer as patient.
We need only turn our tired eyes to the Psalms to see joy and sorrow side by side–when in desolation, be patient, consolation will return, the voice of the psalmist in prayer assures us. Even the natural world assures us. When we lie down at night, our hearts broken open and laid bare before dark, the tender light of the moon, over and over again, offers gentle assurance before giving way to the intensity of the light of day.
Be patient as you offer your morning and evening prayers, for each and every day, another cycle of the rhythms of Light press on. Dark before light, cloudy then clear, the natural rhythms teach us to know patience in prayer. Close your tired eyes, but remember to open! Rest your broken heart, but don’t forget to awaken! Patience in prayer perseveres in the stream of Wisdom. Regardless of whether we swim upstream or go with the flow, the gift of patience in prayer makes us stronger.
