Friday Prayer, May 10, 2019

The news of Rachel Held Evans’ death hit many of us very, very hard. Some amazingly beautiful pieces have been written in recent days days, all illuminating what a tremendous woman – what a matchless voice – the world will achingly miss. I never met Rachel. She also changed my life and faith trajectory in too many ways for me to name. Her words have been a companion to me for years, and that’s exactly what so many people have named. Her voice. Her words. How she changed the world because of them.

I’m preparing to lead a women’s retreat next week on the theme of “Finding Your Inner Voice.” I’ve been thinking about the power of words and the creative force in using one’s voice. This is something to which we’ve been reawakened through Rachel and her legacy.

Abraham Joshua Heschel believed, “words create worlds.” With our voices, we can call into being the world we envision. And this is, after all, the way our story started.

We are born of God’s voice and breath. Living from our inner voice is pausing to listen to what’s deepest within – and that is always a place of beauty, authenticity, and integration. Nurturing your inner voice changes your life, and in turn, the world. What’s happening ‘out there’ in the world starts with what’s happening here in our hearts. Rachel said she knew she always wanted to be a writer, and so she decided to just start writing about the things her inner heart was wrestling with – especially regarding the Bible and her faith. As she did, millions of people were set free. Her words are alive, and her voice is going to continue in this holy work.

Expressing what’s deepest within us through voice and word – whether by lips or through pen – becomes a devoted offering. We have the power to name our world as beautiful, then go about the hard, faithful work of making sure all can enjoy it that way.

My prayer for the women I lead next week and my prayer for you is to receive God’s love and fresh empowerment for living by your inner voice. The voice within you showing everything belongs.

You have some really important words to share. Rather than write a prayer today, I invite you to create your own. It can be one word, a phrase, or a whole flow of things.

Thank you for creating a beautiful world through your voice today.