While walking around the Haight in San Francisco this evening, I felt like I needed to pray. Not merely that I wanted to, although that may be part of it, but something in me felt so moved to that it felt like a necessity at the moment. Whether that was the Spirit speaking or just my fear of being out in the city alone is beyond me.

I often like to close the day with Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, which is beautifully crafted out of a host of various scripture readings, antiphons, psalms, and prayers from centuries past. However, I forgot to pack my Prayer Book and was too lazy to search it up on my phone, as I didn’t feel too comfortable having my phone out late at night.

In the end, I was left with one thing: my own words. Not words crafted by poets and theologians decades or even centuries ago, but my own. Admittedly, I’m not the best at impromptu prayers, especially in the presence of others due to stage fright. But this time, I wasn’t afraid. Because it was just me conversing with God. And isn’t that what prayer ultimately is: a conversation with the sacred, whether out loud or in the silence of our hearts.

I began talking, and this is what I said to God. If it sounds pretty, the credit goes to the Spirit than to me. By the end, I thought I’d write it down to share it just for the heck of it. Take it as it is, and hopefully you’ll use your own words in prayer and well-wishes.

God of the sun and moon, the stars and the planets,

bless us this and every night that we may dream of a better tomorrow,

and, upon waking, live further into the Love you yourself are;

for as the moon reflects the sun’s light so too are we called to reflect your light,

which casts away the darkness and illuminates our hearts;

this we pray, tonight and every night. Amen.