Here’s a reflective prayer I wrote many years back (taken from my 2006 book Touching the Seasons), inspired by playing a game of hide-and-seek with my children. We can learn much in terms of faith from the way a youngster is prepared to search and go on searching, reluctant to give up until they have found the one they are looking for. If only we could show a fraction of that resolve in searching after truth – not settling for arid dogma or pious platitudes, but genuinely seeking understanding and continuing with our quest until we find it – what a difference that would make to our faith and discipleship.
The game of hide-and-seek
It was an excellent hiding place,
the last spot anyone would think to look,
and for a moment the child was flummoxed,
unsure where to turn next.
But he refused to give up,
continuing instead with his search
until it was at last rewarded –
the problem solved,
truth revealed.
Teach me, Lord, that your call to seek and find
is not a one-off instruction –
advice we can act on once and then forget about –
but an indispensable guideline for discipleship,
to be persevered with throughout the journey of faith.
Help me, then,
to search patiently for greater understanding,
deeper commitment
and a fuller love for you and others,
assured that if I truly seek such things,
I will find.
Amen.