Pathway of Prayer

A coworker pulled me aside a few months ago and said, “I just read this quote in my planner and I thought you would love it.” It was a reminder that prayer is to be a habit, and if not practiced regularly, then the pathway to our prayer places becomes overgrown. We mused together about the pathways we are wearing (or not) and the way others may also follow the worn paths to our sacred places.

I forgot all about this analogy until this weekend. I was following my husband up and over our hill to take care of the bees. In a valiant attempt to stop erosion problems, we haven’t mowed our prairie property at all this year. The result: knee high plants in all the places. Without a path, it’s fairly cumbersome to cross our property. This makes watering, caring for animals, and hiking the hill fairly difficult. Except I noticed we’ve worn a path. There is just enough room for single-file hiking from the backdoor, up the hill, past the garden, to the bees, and just beyond to the pond. It’s there because of the frequency of our trek.

God met me on the trail and reminded me this is what I want the inner landscape of my prayer life to look like. Between myself and God I want a well-worn path. 

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jer 6:16) Can you imagine how easily seen the path will be when we learn to “pray continually” (1 Thess 5:12) as the apostle Paul recommends?

Happy hiking, friends.