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 20, 2026 as a short teaching at our online weekly prayer sit.
Sometimes, prayer is a way of getting things. In petition, we ask God directly for things or events. In intercession, we pray on behalf of others, for things and events. In ritual, we perform acts, often hoping to attain a thing or a state of being. We do well to seek good things in this way of prayer!
Sometimes, prayer is a way of doing things. Especially in communal settings, we repeatedly perform ritual acts as a symbol or sign that instructs us on how to do things. A sign of exchanging peace teaches about reconciliation. The symbol of shared bread and wine teaches us about belonging. Collecting gifts and distributing them to the needy teaches us about justice and charity. Reading sacred texts tells us that there is wisdom in the voices who have come before us, and we are wise to listen!
Sometimes, prayer is a way of being. Over time, the accumulated acts of prayer turn into disciplines and habits, which then shape our values and qualities of being. Regular tithing becomes generosity. Ongoing petitioning becomes trust. Pausing to reflect on the invisible would beneath the visible world becomes wisdom. Learning to slow down and rest in what is becomes surrender. Turning to God, over and over, in the good and the bad times, becomes the deepening of faith in something more than ourselves.
The ways of prayer are many. May we become blessings as we seek, do, and be in these many holy ways!
