Sep 07 2007
a prayer to share
My wife has a lot of books on prayer. I rarely touch them. Tonight I needed to pray but had no words. So I pulled one off the shelf. My prayer tonight was from the section entitled, “Dedication to God’s Will.” Perhaps if you find yourself in need of prayer but lacking words, these words may be of help to you.
Oh Lord, I know not what to ask of thee.
Thou alone knowest what are my true needs.
Thou lovest me more than I know how to love myself.
Help me to see my real needs which are concealed from me.
I dare not ask either a cross or consolation,
I can only wait on thee.
My heart is open to thee;
visit and help me, for thy great mercy’s sake;
strike me and heal me,
cast me down and raise me up.
I worship in silence thy holy will and inscrutable ways.
I offer myself as a sacrifice to thee.
I put all my trust in thee.
I have no other desire than to fulfil thy will.
Teach me how to pray.
Pray thou thyself in me.
(Taken from “The Complete Book of Christian Prayer” pg. 47)
on the walk
-Ethan
Why do you rarely touch books on prayer?
Because I rarely pray.
In fitful starts that seems to be changing. As it does I find that I am in need of the psalms and in need of the prayers of the church in a way I never have been before.
When I wasn’t praying, I was content to occasionally mumble the same self-centered wish lists and guilt-filled groveling that has been my pattern of prayer for many years. As I have begun to pray and study Jesus pattern of prayer, it is clear that my prayer vocabulary is not up to the task. So I have started opening books (both of the Bible and from my book shelves) in new ways and with news eyes.
I have quickly found her collection of books of prayers to be extremely helpful. ( I had read plenty of books about prayer, but these books are collections of prayers and that is a very different sort of book to read.)