When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace;
You alone, O Lord, keep me perfectly safe.
Psalm 4.8

Lord, I have given up my pride
and turned away from my arrogance.
I am not concerned with great matters
or with subjects too difficult for me.
Instead, I am content and at peace.
As a child lies quietly in its mother's arms,
So my heart is quiet within me.
Psalm 131.1-2

     As a result of the ongoing Adult Forum sessions on Pauline prayer, I have been thinking about prayer. This gentle class follows Martin Luther's suggestion that to learn how to pray we should, like a child, read other prayers, such as those found in scripture, and use them as models. We have been given a list of passages from Paul's epistles containing all types of prayers (thanksgiving, intercessory, greetings, blessing, etc.) and told we might want to jot a few down to start using in our correspondence and daily exchanges.

     So, dear readers, "May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace." If prayer is a form of communion with God, does it seem to you that sleep might be a form of prayer? In fact, God's prayer to us.

     There is a point in the evening when I tell myself that although there are still many items on my to-do list, I have done my best and it is time to shut down. I do no more chores. I unwind and surrender myself to peace, rest and restoration. After the shortest of prayers, I slide into sleep. For me, night is the most sacred time of the day. It is when I feel closest to God. I am doing nothing. I fully trust in the goodness of sleep. In the morning, I make a point of awakening in time to see the sun rise and I smile inwardly. It is hard to look at a sunrise and feel anything but good.

     Sleeping, we are the children in God's arms. He gently restores us making us new and fresh. Sleep is the mysterious way God communicates with us, whether we are conscious of the dialogue or not. It is the quietest prayer.

Dear God,
     Help us to open ourselves to your graceful presence at all hours of the day or night. Teach us to imitate your nature in our efforts to be nurturing to all those around us. Amen

Contributed by Susan L.
Published Sunday March 13, 2005
Week 16 of Liturgical Year A