Ribbons of Air; Ribbons of Prayer

Ribbons of Air; Ribbons of Prayer

For those of us who love cycling, I’m not sure the primary attraction. I mean, it sure beats walking. You get to see more scenery in the same amount of time, but, of course, you can do that in a car as well. There is something about the breeze and the speed and the effort that makes it way better than golf.

When you pedal for more than a few miles, you have time to think. And since we are human, one can think about some pretty dumb stuff. One could, for instance, wonder what would happen if one of the front forks broke on a 40 m.p.h. downhill; or if a brake cable broke; or a deer stepped out in front. All of these could be precarious, and the precarity may lend itself to the thrill.

One of my “dead time” bicycle thoughts is about that thin ribbon of air the separates me and my bike from the asphalt. I know fat tires are all the rage, but I still love my 23c tires, so little rubber touching the road and lifting only about a half inch from the pavement. That ribbon of air that keeps youafloat is just “there,” and yet it makes the whole experience possible. Without it, there would be much scraping and sliding, and the experience would be ruined.

Which leads one to think, if you have a strange brain like mine, about ribbons of prayer. In the experience of life, there are rough surfaces and jagged edges, and without a buffer, like a ribbon of air on a bicycle, there will be many bruises and scrapes. But what is that buffer in the experience of life? Some would say that it is “smarts” or awareness. You’ve got to look out for yourself. I suppose that would work great, if the problem wasn’t also in your own self. What is your buffer then? Others may point to education or money or friends. Again, those things may help, so long as the education educates you for the tests that actually occur in life, and they are not predictable. Or if the money runs out, or it fails to buy things that really satisfy. And friends, they also can disappoint, as you know.

We need something more consistent than these things, something deeper, and more profound. We need a relationship with God with whom we can talk and wonder and seek the help that we do not yet know that we need. We need a conversation with Someone who knows us better than we know ourselves. And we need that conversation to be always available. A ribbon of prayer.

Is this even real? Is it possible? Yes, in a relationship with the living and true God, rooted in the reconciliation accomplished by His Son, and enabled by the ministry of the Spirit. Yes, we find this in a ribbon of prayer with the Trinitarian God. Richer. Fuller. Deeper.