“Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air.” -Henri Nouwen
Two of my favorite sounds are in the air right now: the song of the red-winged blackbird and the spring peepers. I live near wetlands so to me these are the sounds of spring. This sentence I shared from Henri Nouwen got me thinking about our prayers and how they can be like melodies rising up into the air. As people who regularly sing the Holden Evening Prayer service we are well acquainted with the image of our prayers rising up like incense. What if we also imagined our prayers rising up as new melodies? Melodies that reflected the speaking and listening, the constant interchange and communication between us and the one who created us?
Nouwen writes, “Prayer is the breath of your life that gives you freedom to go and to stay where you wish, to find the many signs that point out the way to a new land. Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in a time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday mornings or mealtimes. Praying is living. It is eating and drinking, acting and resting, teaching and learning, playing and working. Praying pervades every aspect of our lives. It is the unceasing recognition that God is wherever we are, always inviting us to come closer and to celebrate the divine gift of being alive.” (Henri Nouwen’s Devotion for April 27 from “You Are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living”)
Today I am going to listen to the sounds of spring, and then let them remind me that the divine is always present to me in the gift of prayer. Like the sounds in my yard, prayer can pervade my whole day no matter what I’m doing. Maybe today when you hear a favorite sound or a melody in the air, it can be a reminder for you that God keeps inviting us closer into relationship, and may you hear how much you are loved.
In Peace, Pastor Ruth
Let us pray:
Good and Gracious God, form the minds of your faithful people into your one will. Make us love like you love, forgive like you forgive, extend hospitality like you extend hospitality, and embody your grace. Fix our hearts where true joy is found, your son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Friend. Amen.