“Pray” is a verb
St. Paul says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” Persevere in prayer. But what does it mean to pray? Is it just to ask God for the things you want and need?
A 19th-century American writer and satirist named Ambrose Bierce wrote a book called The Devil’s Dictionary. In that book, Bierce defined prayer this way: “Pray. A verb. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner, confessedly unworthy.” Ambrose Bierce probably isn’t quoted much in sermons.
If Bierce were right about the definition of prayer, I might agree with his cynicism. But he’s missing a lot.
Yes, prayer includes asking God for help. There are times when asking for help is all that we can do, and there’s nothing wrong with praying in that way. But prayer can also go far beyond words.
Bierce’s definition is right about one thing. “Pray” is a verb. And verbs are about action. Not necessarily dramatic action. But action nonetheless.
Last week we heard the story of Moses’s birth, the story of the women who saved his life. The story of midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who disobeyed Pharaoh’s order to kill babies like Moses at birth. The story of his mother, Jochebed, who hid him and then put him in a basket among the reeds at the edge of the Nile. The story of Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him. The story of Moses’s sister, Miriam, who arranged for his own mother to care for him. Disobey, hide, adopt, arrange, lie. Those are the verbs that shape Moses’s early life. And yes, “lie” is on the list. The midwives lied to Pharaoh’s face, and Scripture says that God dealt well with them.
Were the actions of the women of Exodus prayers? Scripture doesn’t tell us that the women stopped and prayed before they acted. I can certainly picture Moses’s mother praying for her son. But Pharaoh’s daughter probably never prayed to the God of Israel at all. Still, the verbs, the actions, of the women became part of God’s answer to the prayers of the Hebrew people. They fought for life in the face of death. They did what they were able to do, without knowing exactly where their actions might lead.
Maybe not every faithful action begins with prayer. But sometimes our actions, small though they may seem, become part of the answer to someone else’s prayer. Speak a kind word. Deliver a meal. Make a phone call. Smile at a stranger. Each verb, each action, can join in the work of God. Each can answer a prayer.
This morning we meet again the child whose life was saved by Shiphrah and Puah, by Jochebed and Miriam, and by Pharaoh’s daughter. And now he’s fully grown. But Moses isn’t yet confronting Pharaoh or leading his people to freedom. He’s tending his father-in-law’s sheep.
Moses sees a bush that is blazing but isn’t consumed, and he turns aside to see it. Turning aside doesn’t sound like much. It isn’t dramatic. Moses just takes a few steps off the path. But it’s a verb that changes everything. When God sees that Moses has turned aside, God calls to him. And Moses replies, “Here I am.”
“Here I am” also isn’t much of a prayer, at least as Ambrose Bierce defines prayer. It’s not a plea or petition. Moses hasn’t asked for anything, and doesn’t yet know what God will ask of him. He has simply noticed God’s presence, and has responded. It’s not much of a prayer.
Or maybe it’s the most important prayer of all. “Here I am.” It’s the prayer of prophets and saints throughout the ages. Moses uses the same words as Abraham, Samuel, and Isaiah. “Here I am.” It’s the prayer that makes possible everything that follows.
God tells Moses, “I have observed the misery of my people. I have heard their cry. I know their sufferings. I have come down to deliver them.” Then God says, “I will send you.”
The Hebrew people cry. God hears. Moses notices. God calls. Moses answers. God sends.
Observe, hear, know, come down, send. Those are God’s verbs. Notice, answer, respond. Those are Moses’s verbs.
The verbs move back and forth between God and human beings.
Moses doesn’t feel up to the task God asks of him. He objects, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” God doesn’t answer with a list of Moses’s skills and abilities. God simply says, “I will be with you.”
And so, after several more objections, Moses goes. And “go” is also a verb.
Let’s go back to St. Paul for a moment. “Persevere in prayer,” he says. But that phrase doesn’t stand alone. It’s part of a long stream of verbs. Love one another. Show honor. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in suffering. Contribute to the needs of others. Extend hospitality to strangers. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Feed your enemies. Overcome evil with good.
Paul doesn’t separate prayer from the rest of life. It’s all linked. Sometimes we can pray by acting. When we welcome a stranger or feed a person in need, those actions can be prayer just as surely as kneeling and asking for God’s help or guidance.
Sometimes the verbs we’re called to live out challenge us. Moses goes into conflict and struggle. And in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. Deny. Take up. Follow. Those are verbs too. But hard ones.
Bierce’s definition of the word “pray” describes prayer as a request that God change the universe for one person. Scripture gives us a broader definition. God hears and acts. Human beings notice, respond, and act in their turn. And all of it can be prayer.
St. Paul tells us to persevere in prayer. But to persevere in prayer isn’t to repeat a request until God gives us exactly what we want. It’s to stay in the conversation. It’s to keep noticing, listening, responding, waiting, and beginning again. To keep saying, in word and in action, “Here I am.”
About the cover image: This image was created by GPT-5.6 Luna on August 31, 2026, at the prompting of Glenn Horton-Smith for “a montage of various people rejoicing in hope, being patient in suffering, contribute [sic] to the needs of others, extending hospitality to strangers, weeping with others who weep, and feed [sic] their enemies.” When asked about its sources, GPT-5.6 Luna asserted “The montage was generated as a single original image from your description. It does not use or combine identifiable stock photos, artworks, or external image sources.”