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 January 9, 2026 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
Heat excites and moves molecules. Cold calms and slows molecules. Prayer in the cold points to stillness, perhaps frigid, perhaps not.
In the cold, the threat of ice can feel dangerous. Perhaps an icicle falls and harms me. Perhaps a sheet of shimmer shakes beneath my feet and my whole being falls. Perhaps a frigid dagger of hate pierces my heart and makes me doubt goodness. Perhaps everything beneath my system of belief feels slippery and I wonder if I can make it across to the other side safely. Prayer in the cold comes with risk.
At the same time, in the cold, just a bit of warm can feel marvelous. After the car warms up, I can feel my fingers again, tingling as they stir up circulation. Next to a warm fire, my heart is comforted by the hearth and delighted by a spark of wood caught fire. A warm drink in my hands soothes my inner being as I sip its contents. Perhaps a friend reaches out to ask, “how are you?” Perhaps the people organize themselves to help the most vulnerable. Perhaps we all make it, somehow, even when it’s cold out.
When it’s cold, prayer becomes still. Danger and death lurk nearby. In the cold, may we honor the movement toward stillness, even as we clamor for warmth to ward off the frigid.
