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 May 2, 2025 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
In the modern world, the reason of the mind dominates much of public life. Things that are quick, clean, and easy are often highly valued, especially in institutional and economic realms. Since prayer taps both the visible and the invisible realms, it is not very often, “quick, clean, and easy.” Much like the rest of life, in all its complexity, prayer is often slow, messy, and hard. In this sense, the life of prayer encompasses perspectives that take in the long view.
The rhythms of prayer teach us that light comes after dark and both will likely come around again. The rhythms of prayer teach us that the mustard seed holds the potential of the vine and fruit, but that it takes time for potential to become. The rhythms of prayer teach us that healing is possible because wholeness already lies in wait, even if it’s not tangible and concrete yet.
Many of the mind’s biggest questions and much of life’s worst tragedies do not fit easily into the narrow confines of “quick, clean, and easy.” Therefore, let as allow the ongoing rhythms of the life of prayer to sustain us through the long haul, with both its ups and downs, by leaning into the perspective formed through prayer when it helps us to take the long view.
