15. A Stream of Prayer
R
Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
Psalm 102:1–2W
HENI was a child my family stayed at a wonderful sum-
merhouse in northern Louisiana called The Wind Blows
Inn. An ankle-deep stream ran in front of the tree-shaded cabin, and
some of my most delightful childhood memories are of playing with
my siblings and my cousins in that stream. It eventually joined Cas-
san’s Branch, the big swimming hole, but by using branches and
rocks we could dam up the natural flow of water and create our own
little floating pools.
Sometimes I look at my prayer as a stream of conversation like
that stream in which we played. Some days it flows effortlessly. The
words and yearnings of my spirit move so naturally to the great
ocean of God’s mercy that I feel us becoming one.