The first kind of prayer names a reality that is. Like Adam’s work of words in the Garden of Eden, it creates categories of meaning and names realities. This part of prayer is essential as it reminds us there are truths of the world: God is good. We are loved. To be alive is beautiful. Gratitude is the way of happiness. In this sense, prayer agrees with what God has created and reminds us of the way the world is. The second kind of prayer is not simply naming what is but creating what can be. Just as God spoke mountains and soil into existence, so we use the words of prayer as a generative act
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