Holy One, Divine Creator, whom some name God, we pray every week for so many things: for those suffering from effects of climate change and the earthquakes, the hurricanes, the super droughts, super fires, and the super floods; for children and women abused and sold and trafficked even in our modern era of development; for the millions suffering from poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, lack of clean drinking water, or adequate or fair access to health care. We pray about wars, the threat of wars, mass killings, the crazed politicians, and those who stand against them.

 

The countries we have highlighted the most in our weekly prayers are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Libya, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United State of America, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

 

The voice of God in Hebrew is bath qol which translates literally as “the daughter of sound.” It is often stressed in faith communities that prayer should not just be about talking to God but also listening for that “still small voice.” I have also heard the voice of God translated as “the thinnest silence.” If we are so busy talking to God, how can we find the time to listen for the daughter of sound in the thinnest silence? If we wait for God to be a booming voice from above, how can we hear the thinnest silence? Shhhh…