The above text drawing consists of two prayers. On top is the Lord's Prayer, the well-known prayer from the Bible, which is how Jesus highly recommended that we pray when we go before God. Underneath that is an equally beloved Muslim prayer, called the Exordium. It's the first chapter of the Koran, and it goes like this:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the universe, the compassionate, the merciful, sovereign of the day of judgment! You alone we worship, and to you alone we turn for help. Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not of those who have incurred your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.
Beautiful, huh? In the piece pictured above, I cut the letters from the Koran to create the Lord's Prayer (top), then I cut the letters from the Bible to create the Exordium (bottom). They spiral around and create a little tower on the paper. You can only see the last few words of each prayer, but it's all there.
Since I'm an equal opportunity, nonpartisan, and antisectarian blogger, I'd better include the Lord's Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Exquisite. Each prayer is so simple, and yet so powerful. Maybe that's the key - strip something down to its bare bone basics, and there is raw power.
Have a good one.
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