Praying in Nature: Praying without Words

July 30, 2017 ~ Prev | Intro | Next

During July we are focusing on how the natural world can enhance our prayer life.

Sometimes words of prayer come easily, and at other times, it may be difficult to express ourselves before God. The good news is that words are not always necessary. In both times of joy and times of sorrow, immersing ourselves in nature can help us to find more direct channels of communication. The creation accounts in Genesis stress human relationship to the rest of the world. Whether as one part of the scope of creation in Genesis 1 or through the formation from the earth in Genesis 2, the deep intertwining of human potential and frailty with the rest of nature is developed through the Bible.

Paul discusses the issue of wordless prayer in his letter to the Romans:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words (8:26).

When our souls are downcast, some time spent out in nature can help us connect to God at a level deeper than words. When our souls are exultant, they can find resonance in the wilderness as well.

The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Isaiah 65:12-13)

This week, take yourself, whatever your spiritual state, out into the natural world, and open yourself to God in wordless prayer, as do the wind and the trees.