We share this wonderful reflection on Prayer by Fr. Austin Fleming; you can sign on to his blog by going to A CONCORD PASTOR COMMENTS |
 Sometimes, Lord, we think we don't know how to pray, we can't find the words to say, we wonder if we pray "the right way..." How did we become so misinformed about something so important, Lord? When did we begin to think of prayer as a rare gift? a specialized skill? an art we haven't mastered? How did we come to forget that every thought, sigh, hope and cry, every grunt and gasp and word of ours sounds in your heart as soon and as surely as any saint's pure and perfect prayer? Help us remember, Lord, that simply sitting in your presence, ... in silence... is a prayer whose eloquence delights you... Our very desire to pray, Lord, is a sign you're already with us, nudging our hearts to trust that you're near: our wanting to pray is already a prayer... You invite us to voice our joys and hopes and to vent our hurts and sorrows though all of them known to you long before we even think to pray... Before infants have a word to say, they pray: their cooing, mumbling and crying all sputter forth their wordless pleas of wonder, hunger, fear and joy, of their desire to be held by those who hear in every sound they make the beauty of a prayer that has no words... Be mother and father to us, Lord, and hear every prayer we make - with or without words... Receive the prayers that sputter from our souls: prayers that have no words and prayers that have too many words; prayers we sob upon your breast and prayers we sing from happy hearts; prayers that rise from our confusion which, in wisdom, you completely understand... We offer you each thought, sigh, hope, cry and word of ours that pleads and pulses from within... Let the prayer of beating hearts be heard and held in your eternal heart and in your mercy, Lord, answer us, we pray: hear and answer every prayer we make - with words or without... |
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