Dear Friends,

 We hope that you are safe and well.

 Today's Meditation is a reflection by Ann Kansfield on "Praying All the Time: Let the tiny prayers, the big messy prayers, the silent yearning prayers and the in-action prayers be enough, God--for you and for me." And God said, "Amen--Let it be so!"

 We invite you to join us as we commit ourselves to working tirelessly to end systemic and structural racism in our society, in the church, in healthcare, in the workplace--wherever it shows up so that everyone may come to have more abundant life. May this meditation nourish our contemplative-active hearts and sustain all of us in action.

In the spirit of our philosophy of co-creating community and our awareness that the Spirit speaks through each of us, we invite you to share your meditations with us as well. We truly believe that it is God's economy of abundance: when we share our blessings, our thoughts, our feelings, we are all made richer.

We hope and pray that you find peace, healing, hope and the infusion of joy in your life!

With our love and care,

Ron and Jean

MEDITATION: "Praying All the Time" by Ann Kansfield

Daily Devotional

Daily Devotional

November 10, 2021

Praying All the Time

Ann Kansfield

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. - Ephesians 6:18 (NRSV)

My friend and fellow UCC pastor Rev. Micah Bucey writes “tiny prayers.” He shares them on Twitter. They're short and random. And every time I read them, I think “Wow. I could never write such a great prayer.”

I'm intimidated by prayer. I want it to be neat and tidy with words that make sense. But most of the time, I don't have words. I have a mix of feelings, or other times there's nothing there.

If we are to pray “at all times,” we have to allow ourselves some run-on sentences and messy thoughts. Our whole lives are lived as a big, giant messy prayer. Sometimes within that, we need to pray the words that others write. (Thank God for tiny prayers written by friends!) Sometimes we have to sit with ourselves and God in silence. And sometimes we have to live out the prayer in our actions.

The desire to pray is itself a prayer, and sometimes we live out the prayer in our actions. And that’s enough.

Prayer

Let the tiny prayers, the big messy prayers, the silent yearning prayers, and the in-action prayers be enough, God—for you and for me.

John Edgerton

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ann is co-pastor of the Greenpoint Reformed Church in Brooklyn (UCC/RCA) and Chaplain for the Fire Department of the City of New York.

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