I enjoy a love of language and, when time allows, read classical writing and poetry because it brings me deep and lasting pleasure. I also find it equally fascinating how words and their meanings evolve over time. Ours is truly a living language.

Seeing a brief chance to indulge in this hobby, I grabbed a cup of coffee the other day and perused an old college textbook that contains the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the 14th-century English poet who wrote The Canterbury Tales. Penned sometime around 1387, Chaucer tells the story of a group of pilgrims from varied backgrounds who recount their journey to the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

Bifel that in that seson on a day,

In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay,

Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage

To Canterbury with ful devout corage,

At nyght was come into that hostelrye

Wel nine and twenty in a compaignye

Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle

In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,

That toward caunterbury wolden ride.

How fun is this? These lines introduce the band of pilgrims, assembled at the Tabard Inn outside of London for their journey to Canterbury. Read out loud, the language is tricky to pronounce but beautiful nonetheless. If you are profoundly curious, click on the audio file available on the Encarta Online Web site featuring Chaucer. It’s worth a listen.

It is a far cry from the language I hear at my house these days, a house filled with teenagers who often respond to the drama associated with high school and middle school life with youthful, current expression. “Dude! Sweet! Message me! Check my blogring on Xanga!”

Make any sense to you? I make it a point to keep up as best I can. And while I feel uncomfortable using such youthful expressions, my husband and I are know to cut loose with an enthusiastic “Cool!” once in awhile and the kids understand our sentiments.

Language can be a great unifier.

Workplace language is equally interesting to me and my husband’s 25 years with the Navy as a civilian biologist has introduced to our home an interesting assortment of words. Of all the environmental and governmental language I have acquired over the years as I talk with Matt about his career and workplace adventures, I find acronyms the most fun.

As a way of shortcutting bulky Navy terminology, acronyms come in handy — although at first glance they can look and sound rather intimidating. Acronyms roll off my husband’s tongue with ease after all these years and even my ears are attuned to their meaning with fair accuracy these days.

They can be a whole lot of fun. Matt likes to repeat long acronyms with speed and on occasion will slip in a silly twist, just to see if we are listening. One evening NavOpDet became NavOpDetTrashCompact. Watching our kids react to such playfulness gives them something to kid us about and that is not such a bad thing.

We Christians have our own ever-growing family of acronyms. I happen to like PUSH: Pray Until Something Happens. I value this simple acronym because it is particularly easy to remember. Not only that, but it encourages me to stay committed to prayer even when I am feeling emotionally dry. Or when it feels like I am talking to the ceiling. Or when I worry that my prayers are stale and will not change an outcome that greatly concerns me. Or when I get busy and forget to pray altogether. Writing PUSH on a sticky note and sticking it to the visor of my car or bathroom mirror is a great reminder.

Prayer is conversation with God. It can be a spontaneous outpouring from one’s heart and mind and take the form of words, art, or dance. It can be tender or impassioned.

It can also be liturgical and conceived by someone else. This was demonstrated to the world recently when all eyes were on Rome. The prayers offered by the church were written in most cases centuries ago, yet their familiarity soothed and unified Catholics worldwide.

You do not, however, have to be Catholic to use or appreciate liturgical prayers. Many can be found in church hymnals. Even the book of Psalms in the Bible offers song-like prayers that are famous for their brutal honesty and passion. I find them to be most helpful to people when they are too scared and upset for originality.

Prayers can be said on your behalf or on behalf of someone else. They can include specific requests, intercessions, thanksgiving and praises, adoration for God Himself, or quiet and reflective meditative thoughts.

Let’s join together this week as a community and keep up the PUSH. Be comforted by the fact that our prayers have equal value. Create a visual for yourself and use it as a prompt to link your heart with God’s this week.

You can be cool or formal. No matter the language of your choice, if it is prayerfully spoken it will unite hearts and move mountains.

May God hear our prayers.

Freelance writer Joan Bay Klope’s e-mail address is jbklope@hotmailcom.