Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 10/19

I wrote the first version of this prayer in 2012 and have posted it a number of times since then - and today seems just the day for bringing it out again... (Some readers may remember a homily I preached in 2017 in which praying on a park bench was the main image - and the seat from which I preached...)

 

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, 
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, might bring

to our park bench rendezvous...

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, Lord,
I picture sitting with you, on a park bench, 

on a fine October day:

the autumn leaves falling 

and 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...

          He's waiting to sit with you

          and listen with all his heart

          to all you have to say,

          to every prayer you make... 

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