I am, you anxious one.
Don't you sense me, ready to break
into being at your touch?
My murmurings surround you like shadowy wings.
can't you see me standing before you
cloaked in stillness?
Hasn't my longing ripened in you
from the beginning
as a fruit ripens on a branch?
I am the dream you are dreaming.
When you want to awaken, I am that wanting:
I grow strong in the beauty you behold.
And with the silence of stars I enfold
your cities made by time.
~Ranier Maria Rilke, Book of Hours
Translated by Barrows and Macy

Every Sunday morning, we have a Call to Worship which gathers us together. This is followed by a Prayer of Invocation which invites God into the space as well. As we know, God is already there, whether we offer invitation or not. Still, the invitation is important somehow.

Rilke expresses this beautifully. "I grow strong in the beauty you behold," reminds me that the more I surround myself with beauty and love and compassion and good things, the easier it is to "see" God. Even when my mind leaves me with doubt, still these "shadowy wings" of God surround me. Regardless, God is there, no invitation required.

Just as the Call to Worship calls us together, the Prayer of Invocation calls to us as well. It calls to us to lean into the reality that God is always with us. It calls us to believe that the presence of God is transformative, supportive and loving. It calls us to open ourselves to the goodness of God regardless of our mindset so that we can find our way to better thoughts and actions. Today, call upon God. Offer invitation. Then, breathe. See how this intentional "Invocations" allows you to hold space for that which is already happening: you are surrounded, enfolded and consumed by the love of God. What does that call you to do and be today?