Sometimes my words in the voice of another

God desires that we come to Him with our aches and cries and wounds and absolute joy in our own words. That is why God invented prayer.  That we may talk with Him personally, listen and respond.  But as it says in God’s Word, sometimes we don’t even know what to say.  

“For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”  (Romans 8. 26)

But even when we are speechless, God understands our every word when we come to Him.  Because he understands our hearts.  Sometimes there are no words for it.  And sometimes there are. 

Often, a Scripture verse will resonate in my heart.  Yes, God, that is what I was trying to pray.  And in the process, even in the very act of praying, I realize how shallow I am praying or that my own prayers are stuck in a rut or routine, the same diluted words repeated over and over again.

God translates my thoughts and feelings into His Word, when I just don’t know what to say or how to pray.  The Psalms have been used for centuries by the church in its liturgies, The Lord's Prayer deeply engraved, as well remembering the numerous prayers of Paul, unfathomable affections too deep for my own words.  Even then, there is not the need to pray in eloquent words, but from my heart.

Written prayers of others help me at times to think and pray differently.  Most often centuries old, these prayers do not just reflect my heart, but verbalize my heart.  And that enlarges both my vision and my vocabulary.  Because how I see God always impacts how I pray.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day.

 

 

 

 

 

In honor of this faithful ordinary man who God used in extraordinary ways, I am posting one of his ancient Celtic prayers from sixteen hundred years ago, known as the Rune of St. Patrick.  May the still-timely words of his prayer reflect our own hearts and verbalize not just a deeper love for God but realization of His deeper love for us.  I love the visual images Patrick used in his prayer, all of God's creation around him, when he was only an unknown shepherd slave on a lonely hillside in the early 400's AD.  He knew, even in that volatile and vulnerable place, to pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5. 17)

 

The Rune of St. Patrick

 

Today in this fateful hour

I place all Heaven with its power,

And the sun with its brightness,

And the snow with its whiteness,

And fire with all the strength it hath,

And lightning with its rapid wrath,

And the winds with their swiftness along their path,

And the sea with its deepness,

And the rocks with their steepness,

And the earth with its starkness,

All these I place,

By God’s almighty help and grace,

Between myself and the powers of darkness.

 

If you are interested in learning more about St. Patrick’s remarkable life, please feel free to access my nightlytea blog on St. Patrick and his Shield, posted March 17. 2017.