Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Thirsting for God

Listen, O Lord, to my prayers. Listen to my desire to be with you, to dwell in your house, and to let my whole being be filled with your presence. But none of this is possible without you. When you are not the one who fills me, I am soon filled with endless thoughts and concerns that divide me and tear me away from you. Even thoughts about you, good spiritual thoughts, can be little more than distractions when you are not their author.

O, Lord, thinking about you, being fascinated with theological ideas and discussions, being excited about histories of Christian spirituality and stimulated by thoughts and ideas about prayer and meditation, all of this can be as much an expression of greed as the unruly desire for food, possessions or power.

Every day I see again that only you can teach me to pray, only you can set my heart at rest, only you can let me dwell in your presence. No book, no idea, no concept or theory will ever bring me close to you unless you yourself are the one who lets these instruments become the way to you.

But Lord, let me at least remain open to your initiative; let me wait patiently and attentively for that hour when you will come and break through all the walls I have erected. Teach me, O Lord, to pray. Amen.

-From A Cry for Mercy by Henri J.M. Nouwen

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh net, i am convicted of my greed.

help me to thirst for you, God.

Teri said...

amen.

(the beginning of this fits nicely with our Lent theme here, and therefore I will borrow it...)

Kristen said...

I have two prayer requests.. one is for one of my best friends who is having a c-section tomorrow.. and for my roommate as she has decided to leave school

Jennifer Garrison Brownell said...

Asking for prayers for my family, as my son had to go to the hosp (about a 2x/year excursion) for asthma treatments. He's doing much better today, but this leaves us all tired, in a week when I do not have the time to be tired.

Catherine said...

Raising you all up as needed...