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 October 17, 2025 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
In the same way that the vivid colors of fall leaves pleases the eyes and the gurgling of water in streams and falls pleases the ears, just as in the natural world, prayer also pleases the heart in the spiritual realms. It is no coincidence that the Psalms often beseech the seeker to listen with the eye of the heart or to see with the ears of the heart. To name paradox in prayer often points to something worthy of our attention, and in the eyes and ears of the heart, the pleasures in our prayer point to its devotional quality, and the devotional delights of pleasure point to relationship.
When I enjoy an aspect of the natural world, I see my place in relation to the pleasing aspect. To look up at night sky and take in the stars is to feel small in the grand scope of the universe. The same is true of pleasure in prayer. Hands held up in praise and hallelujah! Hands held together in anxious unknowing. Hands fallen to the ground in deep surrender. Hands holding tightly onto another in tragic sorrow. All are devotional acts of participation in prayer.
When my heart swells up in joy and delight, or is deeply moved by sadness and sorrow, because I have seen the Holy One at work, through the lens of the ear of my heart, I can simultaneously sense my place standing on Holy Ground. I can perceive my participation in the Life of Creation. To take delight in, or be moved by, any aspect of the Holy, is to be in a devoted relationship to the Holy One.
May we take great pleasure in our prayer as we celebrate our devotional participation in the Life of the Holy One!
