I’m walking a path… just as you are. Living life is walking a particular path on this planet, at this time, making the choices I’m making. Which is a lot about me, so let’s say it differently.
We are all on a journey. The best way to make this journey is in conversation with God, praying our way through each day.
In the middle of the road of my life
I awoke in a dark wood
where the true way was wholly lost
La Comedia Divina, Dante Alighieri
That’s how Dante begins the Divine Comedy, an epic poem written hundreds of years ago in the early 1300’s. It’s really about the soul’s journey to God, and notice how it starts right in the middle of things, aware of being on a journey and at the same time lost.
What a realization, to be aware that you are in the middle of a journey and also lost. What is the instinctive thing to do when you are lost? Call out for help!
Prayer often starts as a cry for help. We know we need help, so we call and hope someone is listening.
That is not all there is to prayer, though. Just as our life is a journey with uphill stretches and declines, some days obscured and foggy, other days clear and pleasant, so our prayer life with God is a journey. We pray and learn and practice and over time we develop more ability to converse with God, to hear Him, to obey, to converse and to grow more in love with the One who made us and has saved us.
Another way to say it is prayer is a practice, something we do often, something we grow in. As we journey, we learn to pray more and to approach each day, each decision, each relationship and life point with prayer, talking to God, listening to Him, and gaining strength on this journey.
Take this moment and turn it in to prayer. Thank God for life and for the journey, for His patience and His love. Let God speak to your heart and listen for what He wants to say to you today.