A Prayer for Airplane Travelers

Earlier today I flew from Chicago to Nashville for a Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry. Probably since I was in high school, I've had the habit of saying a short prayer before the plane I'm flying on takes off.

After saying my prayer this morning, I started thinking about how some faith traditions have a lot of these kinds of prayers. The old Book of Common Prayer and even the old Presbyterian Book of Common Worship have collections of short prayers for all sorts of occasions in life. The Jewish tradition has short blessings and prayers to say before and after all sorts of things. And I'm sure this practice is reflected in s wide range of other religions as well.

I think this might be a nice practice to adopt with a little more frequency. Whether the prayers are spontaneous or written, saying a prayer to mark even the smallest aspects of our lives is a way to recognize the sacred in the midst of the ordinary and profane. It's a way to open ourselves to the reality that God is always with us.

So, in this spirit, I'm writing down for the first time the basic gist of the prayer I say before flying. Maybe someone else might find it helpful. Maybe someone else might like to share a prayer themselves.

Dear God, may this machine that we have entrusted our lives to function properly. Thank you for the pilots that fly it and may they use their training well. Deliver us all safely to our destinations. In Christ's name, Amen.