[Hannah] was deeply distressed
and prayed to the Lord,
and wept bitterly.
Hannah was praying silently;
only her lips moved,
but her voice was not heard
1 Samuel 1:10, 13 NRSV
Like a prayer, again, the wind sounds the chimes. What do you hear?
Prayer as a quest
The purpose of prayer is not prayer. The purpose of prayer is to come to love God as much as possible with all the insights into the nature and presence of God this world allows. […] in prayer we are seeking the God who is seeking us. … Prayer is the process of learning to listen.
“So What is the Prayer Life?” in Ideas in Passing by Joan Chittister (05/16/2011) excerpted from The Breath of the Soul: Reflections on Prayer by Joan Chittister (Twenty-Third Publications)
Prayer, like breathing …
Prayer is more like breathing. At times we may be especially conscious of it.…But breathing is never just one more task on our list of things to do. It is essential to life; without it we die. Prayer, like breathing, is essential to our life in God. Without it, our spiritual lives cannot be sustained.
From “Prayer” on Brother Give Us a Word a daily meditation of the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE).
Be still
God says, “Be still and know that I am God.
I will be praised in all the nations;
I will be praised throughout the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 (New Century Version)
Photo: by Wing-Chi Poon on Wikimedia Commons
Hear what the Spirit is saying 