UNCOMPLICATED PRAYER

Just beyond the rocky edge, where sky meets water and the mystery of what's beneath is magnified by shadows, he swallows mouthfuls of air then bows his head and dives. From the shore I lock my eyes to his and then surprisingly, exquisitely, I do the same. For as long as he is submerged, my refusal to take in air is the sacrifice I make to fill his lungs, to somehow give him a little more time.

This involuntary holding [holding space, holding heart, holding time] is not unfamiliar to one who notices the struggle of another—the sharp inhale, the audible gasp, we hold our breath in birth and death, through our own difficulty and in deference of the suffering of others.

This, our bodY'S RESponse—without thought or contrivance—is the soul's unhindered embodiment of prayer.

“Dear Heavenly Father,” I start, and sentences so often refuse to form.
The heartaches, it seems, are more amplified in the quiet when we are left to the inadequacy of ourselves. But we are never alone. 

Often, instead of words I search for faces. And they always come. Those who seek the comfort we often fail to give ourselves, they visit in darkness, invading my bedroom and my dreams like shadows diving into unknown waters. “Breathe for me,” they beg. “If only for a little while.”

Then comes the revelation that I am Opposite of separate, that I am not my own—

I am the breath between your weeping in the middle of the night.
I am anchored feet to sand as you take your deep dive.
I am holding you, air in lungs, arms wrapped to chest, as you plunge into places mysterious and unknown.
And I am waiting for you on the other side.

Prayer, it seems, is as uncomplicated as this. To connect to what is felt and then to feel it too.

This week, when everything done in your humanness seems inadequate, trust that the answers will come. Then, don't rush, just wait. And breathe. Because someone is praying for you. Someone, perhaps whom you least expect, is always praying for you.

Romans 8:26
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.