Praying
It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
~ Mary Oliver ~
It’s lent and I’m focused on prayer a bit more intensely than usual. I want my time during this season to be transforming and so I am more conscious of my spiritual life….
There is nothing wrong with that, and, yet I find that my “striving” can get in the way of what I desire.
I was thinking about this as I tried to sit in silence before God today when this poem, Praying by Mary Oliver, came to my mind …
And I was reminded that prayer is not a test that I am trying to pass or a contest that I am trying to win. It doesn’t have to be perfect or eloquent or a particular length.
A few simple words strung together, a grateful heart and some silence make a good doorway to enter through … into a place where I might hear another voice speak.
Grace Rules Weblog 
Just had this inclination to write about LISTENING…nobody does that anymore. Okay, God does…but, I run into more people that don’t really want to listen to a friend or a brother or sister in Christ. If we can’t hear each other, how are we supposed to hear God? Maybe God is talking through those that we don’t listen to…or hear? OR SEE? I don’t know…just what came to mind. God bless you, Liz.
Tammy – During the last several months I have been trying to practice contemplative prayer which requires me to be silent and listen … and my focus for this year is “awaken” which requires me to be aware … another kind of listening. I say all of that to get to the point that “listening” is on my mind a lot this year. I look forward to reading what you have to say on the subject. I definitely already love the direction you are thinking “Maybe God is talking through those that we don’t listen to…or hear? OR SEE?”
That’s deep stuff!!