Today’s Prayer to Passage will be from the book “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan.

Today I pray, “Dear God, Thank You for consistently reminding me that You are beyond any belief or imagination, yet You love to communicate with us on a level we may comprehend. Thank You for speaking to us in our languages, however Your communication may come about. And thank You for an abundance of varying beliefs, as each belief may be a peaceful path of comfort to the believer, and You are the constant. Amen.”

Following my prayer, I held the closed book in my hands and opened it to this passage:

“We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers.”
—CARL SAGAN

While writing my September 11, 2015 post, I heard five words from God.
Religion; Orthodox; Ontology; Distress; Promise.
I was then instructed by God to look up the definitions of these words, respectively, and record them in that day’s writing. I will do this again today. Only today, I have been instructed to leave out the word “religion”, begin with the word “orthodox”, and add the word “love”.

Orthodox: adjective 1. of, relating to, or conforming to the approved form of any doctrine, philosophy, ideology, etc.
2. of, relating to, or conforming to beliefs, attitudes, or modes of conduct that are generally approved.

Ontology: noun 1. the branch of physics that studies the nature of existence or being as such.
2. (loosely) metaphysics.

Distress: noun 1. great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble
2. a state of extreme necessity or misfortune.

Promise: noun 1. a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one: unkept political promises.
2. an express assurance on which expectation is to be based: promises that an enemy will not win.

Love: verb 1. a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties: maternal love for a child
(2) :affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests: love for his old schoolmates
b: an assurance of affection: give her my love
2. warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion: love of the sea
3. a: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as
(1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind
(2) : brotherly concern for others
b: a person’s adoration of God