We watched him pray

After Luke 11:1-4

A prayer, in a certain place:

we watched him pray,

his lips moving in silence,

eyes closed, head bowed;

a prayer designed to be

heard by only one. But

we couldn’t see or understand

what the words were,

so we asked how

and he told us how:

to acknowledge whom

to praise and lift up

to focus on him and his

not us and ours

to ask daily

to forgive daily

to avoid what leads us away

to avoid what leaves us astray

to deliver us

to praise, always

to praise daily

to praise, pray, always

He poured into us

for us to pour into others.

Photograph by Joshua Earle via Unsplash. Used with permission.