Hear our prayer, O Lord
Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Brothers and sisters, we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. Be reconciled to God. Now is a very acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.
– From 2 Corinthians 5
Four short simple words: “Be reconciled to God.” Jesus tells me how. “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
God has no need for my careful words or perfect inflection. When I was born we were close without speaking. And now my words can get in the way of our friendship, when even when we are alone together I feel myself trying to impress, say the right thing.
So I often resort to ritual prayers because they don’t feel scripted or false. The Lord’s Prayer, Gloria, Jesus Prayer, Rosary. Like my own prayer language, these words slip through my lips and quiet my mind. In their rhythms, in their repetition, gradually they help me be still and listen.
The SIMPLE prayer, though, is for me to put into words what I’m thinking and feeling, and then just wait for what Jesus says. In the list of ancient sacred disciplines, I think that is called a “colloquy.” What did the old priest tell Samuel to say in the night? “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Because this is not exactly a dream. It’s a visitation.
At this dawning of Ash Wednesday, what can I do to be reconciled with God? What will God do? Does he wait for me to speak … and does he wait for me to listen? Speak, Lord. I want to hear your voice.
We honor Jesus’ Paschal sacrifice today and continue for the next forty days. We celebrate with all our might and we grieve with all our tears. Here we are, Lord. Ashes, ashes, dust to dust. You do not come in the earthquake, you do not come in the wind. You do not come in the fire, Father. It’s in the silence that you come. From Alexi Murdoch’s song “Breathe”:
You’re aware in all the silence
Of a constant that will turn
Like the windmill left deserted
Or the sun forever burn
So don’t forget to breathe
Don’t forget to breathe
Your whole life is here
No eleventh hour reprieve
So don’t forget to breathe
When I was a child I prayed like a child. “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.” Let me pray that way again.
In the morning when I rise, “Now I awake and see the light; Lord, thou hast kept me through the night. To thee I lift my voice and pray that thou wilt keep me through the day.”
Hear our prayer, O Lord, hear our prayer. Incline thine ear to us, O Lord, and grant us thy peace. Amen.
http://www.davesandel.net/category/lent-easter-devotions-2018/
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1654
