A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 10/21

I wrote the first version of this prayer in 2012 and have posted it most years since - although I saw today that I didn't post it last year or the year before. It's one of my favorites, so I'm bringing it back. (Some readers may remember a homily I preached in 2017 in which praying on a park bench was the main image.)

Sometimes when I want to pray
I picture sitting with you, Lord,

on a park bench, on a fine October day,

the falling leaves, carpeting the ground...

Sometimes we just sit there, Lord,
just the two of us,

in a moment made holy

by the stillness of your presence...

Or I pour out my heart to you
and share my cares and worries

while you listen and take care
to gently wipe away my tears...

Sometimes I savor memories
of older, joyful, peaceful times,

tucked and treasured in my heart,
stored up for harder days...

Sometimes I wait and listen,
oh, how I listen, Lord,
for a word that you might whisper

from your heart's depths to mine...

And sometimes when I listen

- I hear nothing -

save the silence of your presence
and often, though not always, Lord,
that's word enough for me...

And sometimes we just sit,
just you and me together

and sitting by your side

is just enough, just what I need...

I never have to wait for you:

you're always at our bench,
waiting for me, patiently,

waiting to receive what joy or pain

my heart might hold...

You're never in a hurry, Lord,
you're always pleased to stay

and pass the time for just as long

as I may like or need...

And in the crunch of autumn leaves

you listen, Lord:

you listen oh-so-closely,

even when my awkward silence

is the only prayer I make...

Sometimes when I want to pray
I picture sitting with you, Lord,

on a park bench, on a fine October day:

the falling leaves, carpeting the ground...

Amen.

Find a park bench today

down the street, in a park,

in your heart, in your prayer...

The Lord is waiting there,

waiting for you to come and join him

in the quiet, in the silence, in your prayer...