ways to pray
Naomi Kim
i. kneel in the communion pew on
the first sunday of the month
hands cupped together to receive
the body of Christ, broken for you
take into your fingers one of
the tiny plastic cups of grape juice
the blood of Christ, shed for you
beside you your mother bows her head
you lower yours too and pray,
Lord, i believe (hoping, wishing it were true),
help my unbelief
ii. lie awake at night in the dark,
your face to the wall, and
wrestle with God until you limp,
asking, are You truly there?
asking, why is it hard to believe?
asking, why do You not show Yourself to me?
frustration overflows into anger and
no one speaks to part your stormy red sea
iii. in church your pastor says,
not in my inadequate words but in
the words of Your son, who taught us to pray
and voices in the pews all around you
join hers and fill the sanctuary
you, too, move your lips and say,
our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name…
iv. find yourself stumbling over your words
as you write your fledgling prayers
turn to fragments of long-familiar liturgy
flickering within your heart like tongues of fire
merciful God, we confess that
we have not loved You with our whole hearts
prayers travel down your arteries into your fingers
and seep into the ink of your pen
v. sing great is Thy faithfulness on sunday morning
behold His love in the declaration
I, the Lord of snow and rain
I have borne my people’s pain
I have wept for love of them
holy are the hymns which unveil His face
to you who see through the glass darkly
and give you a way to express
how great Thou art in words
older and stronger and surer than yours,
the sung prayer of praise
vi. in the morning before the day begins,
put your hands together as though
to shelter a mustard seed between your palms
you struggle to rein in a wandering mind
you stumble over fragments of psalms
may the words of my mouth and
the meditations of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord
and ask for grace to know, to love, to serve
pace the carpet of your bedroom the way
saints before you have walked the labyrinths
in a pilgrimage of prayer
Naomi Kim is a sophomore concentrating in English.
12 Spring 2019