First Prayer

Hello God

Photo: Somewhere on planet Earth.

First Prayer

The fire blazed in front of him. Sparks flew into the air. The fire crackled like a branch being stepped on in the forest. The day filled with the hunt was both exhilarating and frightening. The others on the hunt slept around the fire after eating meat from the large beast they had finally brought down at the end of the day’s hunt. His face was warm from the fire, and his hunger was satisfied. The back of his arms felt cool as the night brought cold air into the valley.

He raised his eyes from the fire and saw a light trail in the sky. It moved quickly from the night sky to the dark horizon. He had seen this site many times since he lived under the sky. His people constantly moved from one location to another, following the animals that sustained them. When the animals moved, they moved. They hunted to exist. Every part of the animal was used. The bladder could be tied and could hold water for a journey. Animal hide was used for clothing and shelter. Bones could be used as tools, and small bones, along with long thin strands of the gut, could be used to attach one hide to another hide.

Their clan showed admiration for the beasts they hunted. They hunted like animals but were so very different from them. Many of them wore the claws of the beasts they killed around their necks. There was power in the beast, and to capture that power for themselves, they ate the heart and liver soon after the kill. They revered the beast and emulated its movements.

The difference began with a question of who they were and why they were there—that question of ‘Who’ captured their imagination. Their difference began with the thought of their being something greater than themselves. It was something so powerful as to cause fire to fall to the earth in a flash with thunder. It was so powerful to wash the land with rain and fill their hearts with awe. So powerful it brought fear.

He looked back at the ground, fire, clan, and sky and adjusted his eyes to the ever-increasing darkness. Stars became brighter until they filled his field of vision. There were thousands upon thousands of stars. His heart beat faster in his chest, and an overwhelming joy filled him. A tear escaped the corner of his eye and trailed down his cheek into the hair on his face. He spoke in silence to the power.