The brothers told this story: We once visited some hermits, and after the usual prayer we exchanged greetings and sat down. After we had talked with them, we got ready to go, and asked once again for prayers to be said. But one of the hermits said to us, “What, haven’t you prayed already?” We said, “Yes, abba, when we came in, we prayed, and since then we have been talking.” He said, “I may be wrong, brothers; but one of you while he was sitting and talking with you offered a hundred and three prayers.” With these words, he prayed, and sent us away” (12:15)
One of my best learnings about prayer is similar to this ancient story. I’ve learned that I do not always have to say, “Dear God……Amen” in order to pray. When I am mindful and attentive, ordinary conversations can be prayer.
As this ancient story reveals, there can still be formal times of prayer and stated words of prayer, but it is important for us to realize that our talking is also prayer. To make the point, the hermit counted the sentences which had been spoken between the first prayer and the last one. One hundred and three prayers, the hermit said. Indeed!
Oboedire 