prayer

There are times when we feel, quite simply, far too small
to contain everything we are feeling.

Maybe a moment of awesome beauty overwhelms us,
or a piece of music brings tears to our eyes.

We hold a newborn child in our arms
and are lost for words.
We gaze, helplessly, as a loved one takes a final breath.

Or maybe we are speechless with rage,
impotent in the face of some gross injustice,
or some intolerable pain.

Prayer can catch us in its arms at times like these,
often in shared rituals or rites of passage,
but also in the unspoken, and unspeakable,
aching and yearning of our hearts.

We pray when our hearts are overflowing.

Margaret Silf
The Gift of Prayer

Photo by Ashley Gillett Photography