Go Outside and Pray

The temperatures are warming up, and summer is here. Whether you have a vacation planned or not, I hope you will give yourself time to be outside. Being able to venture outdoors takes on new meaning after more than a year of pandemic shutdowns. For some, there will be overwhelming feelings of awe and gratitude to experience the outdoors and the freedom of traveling away from home. For others, time outside will come with a profoundly developed connection to the Divine after spending so many months in the backyard. As many of us learned this past year, spending time outdoors is more than a nice break from routine. It can be a beautiful part of your spiritual growth journey.

An Invitation to a Deeper Prayer Life

If you find yourself struggling to sense a connection to God and your prayer life feels stale, step outside. Nature nourishes the soul and is a constant reminder of God’s power and beauty. Being in nature is one of the most beautiful ways to make your prayer life blossom and to hear the quiet, still voice of God. Marveling at the beauty of the outdoors serves as a reminder that God resides within everybody and everything. Remember that and you will experience how a nature walk can be a soul-filled way to pray.

You will find stability at the moment when you discover that God is everywhere, that you do not need to seek Him elsewhere, and that He is here, and if you do not find Him here it is useless to go and search for Him elsewhere because it is not Him that is absent from us, it is we who are absent from Him... It is important to recognize that it is useless to seek God somewhere else. If you cannot find Him here you will not find Him anywhere else. This is important because it is only at the moment that you recognize this that you can truly find the fullness of the Kingdom of God in all its richness within you; that God is present in every situation and every place, that you will be able to say; 'So then I shall stay where I am.'

Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.

Romans 1:20

An Invitation to Accept Imperfection

If you find yourself obsessing over a relationship that is frustrating and your mind is stuck in a non-stop “if only he” or “she just needs to”, time outside can help you pause and surrender to the imperfection of life. Find a flower. Observe how the petals are imperfectly aligned. Reflect on how that flower is still serving its purpose, giving food to bees and a joyful moment to those who walk by and notice. Step outside. Find something imperfect. Gaze at its beauty. Notice the timing of when flowers bloom, grasses turn green, and leaves fall. If you live near any of this past year’s weather disasters, notice the destruction. Then catch sight of new life. Allow your observations to be an invitation to accept the imperfection in yourself and your loved ones and a recognition of the perfection of God’s timing.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

An Invitation to Trust God

If you find yourself overwhelmed with a busy schedule or immersed in a situation you want to hand over to God, pause. Look for a tall, towering tree to sit under, or find a trail with lots of trees. As you observe their strength and size, pause and sense a humble understanding of the big picture of God’s plan and your place in it. Reflect on the roots beneath the tree. Ask yourself what your roots are grounded in. What is grounding you as you deal with this situation?

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather in to barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith?

Matthew 6:26, 28-30

An Invitation to Listen to God

If you find yourself struggling to hear what God wants you to do in a situation or where God is calling you, head to the outdoors. God speaks to us through creation. Step outside and prayerfully consider how a particular rock, twig, or bird in all its beauty, imperfection, and mystery - may be telling you something about patience, endurance, and love. Notice the change of seasons. You may hear God speaking to you in all the signs of new life.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being.

Job 12:7-10

Spend time outdoors this summer and allow it to deepen your prayer life. Stare in awe at the beauty and recognize it as a gift from God.

The Beauty of God

By David Adam

If we walk through the world

And do not see its beauty

If we cannot stop for a flower

How can we know you, Lord?

You speak to us through beauty

Let us reverence the spotted burnet

And look in awe upon the bugloss

Bowing before you in wonder

Lord, speak to us through light

Let us glimpse your splendour

May we thrill at your brightness

And be aware of your glory

Let all of your creation speak

And tell us of your power

Let us walk in gentleness

Among the mysteries you have made.