(Search & Sitemap) (Search & Sitemap) > Writing > Assorted Creations > The Portal > The Prayer
When the others have left, you begin to pray:
Our father in Heaven,
may your name be held holy.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors,
and do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
You try to pray more, by finding more words, but all that comes is noise. "Lord, take this noise away, and help me to speak true words of prayer." More words, more noise. "Lord, fill my speech and my prayers. Let me speak from great faith, let me talk to you. O Lord, who have created the tongue, and granted us the power of speech, let me fill the day with pure words, holy words, words of..." You have finally run out of words to keep you from the silence, and, for a moment, you hear a very still voice speaking to your spirit.
"There is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence."
Silence.
"Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent."
Silence.
"The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?"
Silence. A very long silence.
"When you pray, do not babble endlessly. I know what you need before you begin to speak, and I have loved you with an everlasting love. Stop talking, and begin to pray."
Silence.
"Now, you need peace, and I will give you peace."
Silence.
Slowly, you see colors and forms begin to coalesce. You begin to see an image. You begin to feel a presence.
You are slowly walking in a forest. Magnificent and ancient trees tower to the sky, casting through their leaves an emerald light. Beneath the trees, there is a soft loam, into which your feet noiselessly sink as you walk. Moss covers a rock here and a rock there, and crawls up the vines and trees. As you walk, you come to a trickling stream. The water is cold, and, when you drink it, it satiates your spirit as well as your body.
Everything dissolves into stillness.
You are sitting on a weathered log, next to a campfire on a beach. The sun has set, and the starlight shines brightly. A soft and salty breeze wafts up on the land. The waves, sparkling in the moonlight, lap against the beach. Two seagulls glide through the night sky. A few small fish jump above the surface of the water, rippling the surface.
Everything dissolves into stillness.
You are standing in the mouth of a small cavern, behind a waterfall. The waterfall cascades as a single, shimmering sheet of water; through it, you can see a deep lagoon. Schools of brightly colored fish swim in and out of some seaweed. You dive, feeling the coolness of the falling water against the warmth of the air, and then glide through the water. Coral and an anenome sway in the water; you can see the sunlight, a light band here and a dark band here, flowing with the waves. The water against your body slowly drifts. A small fish lets you pet it.
Again, things grow still. You cannot see anything, but you can feel a presence. After a while, you can hear a song. The song is deep and majestic, with the power of voices and harps that have been singing since before the worlds were made. It is a song beyond stillness, and somehow, you feel that you could have heard it in the stillness, if you had been listening. It is a song that you can see as pure light, feel as pure warmth, hear as pure beauty, know as a pure presence.
"Now, do you know a little more of what it means to pray?"
You hear some footsteps, followed by a knock on the door and the voice of Ola. "The day is almost over; will you come down to eat and talk with us?"
(Search & Sitemap) (Search & Sitemap) > Writing > Assorted Creations > The Portal > The Prayer