Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude, where everything I touch is turned into prayer: where the sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is in all.
— Thomas Merton, Thoughts In Solitude

There are dozens of science-based books about the behavior and intelligence of birds, and every year or two a book is published about avian symbolism and significance. There is a profound bond between humans and birds. Bird migration mapping and human fossil records show that our most distant ancestors consistently chose to live in prime bird habitat.

The Bible is a veritable aviary! Noah used a dove (Gen. 8:11) to discover the flood waters were receding. We read of quails in the desert (Ex. 16: 11, 13), of ravens bringing food to starving prophets (I Kings 17:6), and a rooster whose crowing at dawn caused Peter to weep (Matt. 26:74-75).

Henri Nouwen was a deep thinker and lover of Jesus, and he had a passion for deep spiritual living. In his chapter on prayer, he zeroes in on the practice of simple and repetitive prayer. Instead of a stream of conscious thoughts and words, Nouwen suggests praying a minimum of one sentence, spoken over and over again. He states, “Such a simple, easily repeated prayer can slowly empty out our crowded interior life and create the quiet space where we can dwell with God.” To that end, here are a four simple prayers to help you build your daily nest:

“Jesus.”

“Jesus, help me.”

“Thank you.”

“Jesus, be with me.”

As you make use of these little twigs, what you’ll find is that throughout your day, you’ve been in consistent prayer. Your heart will sync with your lips as you silently pray. Your mind will be tuned in to your innermost being, and hopefully you will experience a greater awareness of God wherever you go.

Look forward to being with you Sunday as we consider the birds,