Prayer

Prayer is a means of communion. It is not simply something we do, but a gift through which God draws us into deeper relationship—with God, with ourselves, with one another, and with all creation.

We sometimes speak of prayer as affectionate attention: attending with love to God, to one another, to ourselves, and to the world around us. In the presence of God, even an ordinary moment can become an act of prayer.

We may pray with words or in silence, kneeling or walking through a forest, using prayers handed down through generations or words that arise in the moment. We may pray alone or together. In prayer, we give thanks, express our sorrow, ask for help, and bring the needs of others and the suffering of the world before God.

Yet prayer remains a mystery. We do not master it through knowledge or technique. Rather, we grow into it over time, learning to listen, to trust, and to receive.

Scripture tells us that even when we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. In prayer, then, we are not left to find our own way to God. By the Spirit, we are drawn into the prayer of Jesus Christ himself, sharing in his communion with the Father.