A Heart and Soul for Prayer

“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.”

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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.

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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.