Seeing Creation and Prayer
One of the devotional books I use most mornings is called Celtic Daily Prayer. The past couple of days the daily readings have contained beautiful prayers I’d like to share with you. The author of the first prayer is unknown.
“If my lips could sing as many songs as there are waves in the sea: if my tongue could sing as many hymns as there are ocean billows: if my mouth filled the firmament with praise: if my face shone like the sun and moon together: if my hands were to hover in the sky like powerful eagles and my feet ran across mountains as swiftly as the deer: all that would not be enough to pay You fitting tribute, O Lord my God.”
The second prayer comes from the Talmud and reads: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe! At Your word night falls. In Your wisdom You open heaven’s gates, You control the elements and rotate the seasons. You set the stars in the vault of heaven. You created night and day. You cause the light to fade when darkness comes and the darkness to melt away in the light of a new day. O ever-living and eternal God, You will always watch over us, Your creatures. Blessed are You, O Lord, at whose word night falls.”
Both of these prayers are good examples of how paying attention to Creation can enhance our prayer life and lead us to worship and praise. There is certainly biblical precedent for this. Those who composed the Psalms often did the same thing. In Psalm 103, for example, David declares “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions.”
I encourage you to let nature be one of your guides in prayer. There you will find an inexhaustible resource to connect you to the Creator and Lord of life. I truly believe that seeing Creation and prayer should go hand in hand.
–Chuck
(I took the top image of the Pacific Ocean earlier this year on a visit to see Rob in California. The bottom photograph of “The Watchman” was taken at Zion National Park last December.)