Why do we pray?

We are eternal spirits, offshoots of divine source. Why do we pray?

We are equally unique, yet interconnected beyond comprehension. So, why do we pray?

We know little, we feel a lot.

We pray to make sense of the yearning to be complete.

Why bother to pray if we are already connected to source?

Birth is a forgetting, life is an improvisation, death is an invitation, eternity is the universe’s

never-ending show where we edge closer to the limelight. The script begins…

Dear God

We may as well be calling our own names.

The life within you feeds my next move--

 Dear God, you are beautiful eternal timeless genuine

but why must we pray?

We must call out, expand, create--waves break off

from the ocean--sprays mist that refreshes--

Prayer is our first, last & constant cry to creation

Prayers are sincere, inspired, heartfelt wishes that may be expressed for any occasion. People sometimes find giving prayers aloud to be a challenge because they were raised in churches where all of their prayers were standardized, memorized, spoken not from the heart but from the mind.

If this fear of public speaking in the moment and from the heart keeps you from sharing your wishes, why not begin by writing prayers as a spiritual practice?

Start with the familiar pattern of composing a letter: firstly, address God or Source, then sketch out the body of the letter. What do you wish for? What are you inspired to praise? Is there an outcome you desire? Finally, gently end your wishes with a loving farewell, a hope for peace, a knowing that you are heard.

Consider sitting at the same time each day with your spirit team to write a prayer for different reasons, both formal and seemingly inconsequential. Or simply write a few lines of one prayer each day over the week.

As your prayers multiply, you will find it easier to offer your voice when asked to give a prayer, or to say grace at a meal, or use a prayer to simply calm yourself in times of need.

Our lives have meaning. Prayers give voice to our deep need for praise of this meaning and our purpose on earth. Gratefully spoken words uplift us like a spray of sea mist on our faces, breaking off from the ocean depths of love to nourish our souls.

We cannot remain silent.