“Prayer is not
asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness.
It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a
heart.”
―
Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi
(1869–1948)
What would you have me say
To you, O Lord, in prayer?
What would satisfy you?
How much should I dare?
You answered me quietly:
“This is how to start:
Give yourself truly over to
me;
Just give me your whole heart.”
***
A heart and soul for prayer is a heart and
soul right for approaching God; for
getting in nice and close – to give and receive authenticity, and, by manner,
to communicate authentically – such that the truth just echoes from within,
outward into the realm of God, so that God’s healing Presence resounds from
without the vessel bellowing their prayer and inward into them. Impact!
Such is prayer.
It is not scientific, but it is very much a
felt experience. Who can say they’ve been heard or answered by God other than
the person who has prayed their prayer? Nobody!
What is True is Right – God Wants Us
Accepting Who We Are Before Him
The admission of our weakness before God is
not about our noses being rubbed in it. We have dark hearts if not for God and
we need to know that. The darkness in our hearts is visible, by clear example,
in the covering of our weakness, because we are all quick to highlight our
strength.
As is life, we are a mix of good and bad,
happiness and sadness, strength and weakness. We have no problem admitting the
good, the happiness, and the strength. Why would we cover our badness, our
sadness, or our weakness before the One who knows all? Particularly, why would
we conceal such a thing that is necessary for our healing on the part of God?
Giving God Our Hearts – To the God Who
Requires Not the Words
Being raw and real around God is about
being true to ourselves – without denying our junk, nor making an excessive
case for it. Is it the words God needs to hear? No, of course not, but think
for a moment who needs to hear the words.
Vocalised prayer is blessing for the
praying person in that they create their own meaning as they decide the words,
inspired, as they are, by the Holy Spirit.
But God, per se, does not need the words –
he wants our hearts.
***
Whole-of-heart we pray best, and the words
follow. It’s what we feel in our
prayer that gives us the connection with God.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
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