“Prayer is not a pious decoration of life but the breath of human existence.”

—  Henri Nouwen

The Wounded Healer (1972)

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Henri Nouwen photo
Henri Nouwen 23
Dutch priest and writer 1932–1996

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Henri Nouwen photo

“Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air. Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and to stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land.”

Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) Dutch priest and writer

With Open Hands (1972)
Context: Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air. Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and to stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land. Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday mornings or mealtimes. Praying is living. It is eating and drinking, action and rest, teaching and learning, playing and working. Praying pervades every aspect of our lives. It is the unceasing recognition that God is wherever we are, always inviting us to come closer and to celebrate the divine gift of being alive.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge photo

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Oh, lift a thought in prayer for S. T. C!
That he, who many a year, with toil of breath,
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"Epitaph", written for himself (1833)

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