How to begin

After Matthew 6:9

It’s not about you, when

you begin. It never is,

really, no matter what

you might think, sitting

there with needs and wants

stacked like a sagging

bookshelf.

It’s not about you, when

you pray. The direction 

is not horizontal but

vertical, looking upward,

eyes focused upward,

emphasis on our not my,

a further punctuation that

it’s not about us, but it is

us, collectively, raising

our voices upward, 

to our father, recognizing

the place where he sits,

where he resides, calling

to us as we call to him.

Photograph by Greg Rakozy via Unsplash. Used with permission.

How to pray

After Matthew 6:9

Then, we are instructed

to pray, the then a coda,

a summary of what was

spoken before: don’t heap

up empty phrases, don’t believe

that more words mean

a greater likelihood of being

heard; instead, pray in wisdom,

knowing the needs, requests,

supplications, desires are

already known. No surprises

here; he already knows.

Photograph by Naassom Azevedo via Unsplash. Used with permission.