71 - A Song of Intention

I keep hearing and reading about studies that seem to indicate that people who pray regularly live longer. The link to God sustains us and prayer is a vehicle to maintain that link. But, sometimes, when I pray, my mind can wander. The words are so familiar. I try then to find that heightened awareness we call kavannah, a holy intention that moves the words to a loftier plane.

Seventy-One

A Song of Intention

In the worn smooth motions of prayer,
I will come before the Eternal;
For You will even out my ragged breathing,
Comforting my soul.

With confusion of spirit, I search for You;
Yet I cannot find the proper intention;
And my mind grows numb as my voice whispers,
Stuttering over ancient words.

As I stumble along, I grow mute,
Forgetting the prayers of childhood,
The psalms learned in maturity,
The ringing hymns.

All around me, seekers pray;
All around me, prayers seek You,
Harmonizing their souls, lost in the whole.
Yet, I stand alone.

Return me to remembered devotions,
Words that have entered my being,
As much a part as my handedness,
My breathing, my eye blink.

Restore me to the songs of my fathers and mothers,
The joy and longing of my people
As they sat and wept for Jerusalem,
As they danced in the harvested fields.

Then, with a resolution of chords,
A restoring sigh will calm me,
A sure deep breath will flow in and out;
My words once more will rise to You.