When You Pray...

When you pray, be like the mountain
in stillness, in silence;
thoughts rooted in eternity.
Do nothing; just sit, just be;
and you will harvest the fruit of your prayer.

When you pray, be like the flower
reaching up to the sun;
straight stemmed like a column.
Be open, ready to accept all things without fear
and you will not lack light on your way.

When you pray, be like the ocean
with stillness in its depths
the waves ebbing and flowing.
Have calm in your heart,
and evil thoughts will flee of their own accord.

When you pray, remember the breath
that made all living beings:
from God it comes; to God it returns.
Blend the word and prayer with the flow of life
and nothing will come between you and the Giver of Life.

When you pray, be like the bird,
endlessly singing before the Creator,
its song rising like incense.
Pray like the turtle dove, the loon,
and you will never lose heart.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

(Quoted in Lost in Wonder, p. 53)