from Praying with the Earth by John Philip Newell

Prayer of Awareness

As light gives way to darkness

and the busyness of day concedes to night’s stillness.

As conscious thought surrenders to dreams

and our bodies long for rest

we pause to listen

for the beat of your Presence in all things

pulsing in the light of distant galaxies

sounding in the depths of or soul

vibrating in each vein of earth’s body.

One Sound as vast as the universe

one universe filled with Presence

one Life within every life.

In the darkness of night

in the stillness that surrounds us

in the unknown depths of our being

we pause to listen.