In moments when we strive very hard to do good but fail,
In moments when we try to pray but our minds and hearts are a blank,
In moments when we set aside a fair bit of time in silence to listen to God, who chooses instead to remain silent,
In moments when we have done all that we can possibly do in the moment to find God in and around us but He is nowhere to be found and felt,
We will come to the realisation of who we really are in the light of His truth - nothing; our actions and our abilities do not meet the expectations of who we want to be, despite the great effort we put in to being a better disciple.
We may begin to really question if we were ever capable of anything good at all if not for God who blesses us and gives us everything that we need continuously. When we have realised and acknowledge our true nothingness, we can then accept the reality that we really must and can only rely on God to provide for our every need. I would like to believe that God allows us to fall short at times so that we get in touch once again with the truth of our humanity so as to ascend to grasp His Divinity, drawing from Him every grace and blessing, relying on Him for everything we need and being in an unending gratitude for all that we have been given.
It is in moments whereby we are so lacking that we appreciate more fully the moments of fullness, and beg with all our hearts for the help we so need. And so, this prayer...
Dear God,
The desire we have in our hearts for you is in itself Your grace, poured upon us so generously, for without which, You know that sinful as we are, we would rather depart farther from You.
The time we set aside for you in prayer is in itself Your gift to us because You know how much we need for our daily challenges and You know that You alone are our source of life. You are fully aware, knowing all that are in our unwise hearts, that without this gift, we would instead waste away time on worthless engagements.
The decision we make to connect with You in prayer is in itself Your grace to us for without this grace, we will surely get lost in the rigour of each day, leaving behind our relationship with You in the trails of our tiredness and the lack of time.
The words that we use to form our dialogues with You are in themselves Your gift to us, without which, our minds and hearts will be completely immobilized to verbalise.
The zeal, sincerity and authenticity that we feel towards You are in themselves Your graces injected into our hearts. You know the mask we hide behind and the falsehood well-camouflaged in the distorted truths. How else, if not for Your graces, can we come before You as we truly are? How else, if not for Your assistance, can we ever be wise enough to put You before all else?
Lord, You have given us the bridge that fills the gap that otherwise keeps us apart. Remove these graces and blessings and this bridge will be broken, and we will thus be reduced once again into a lifeless nothing. Without these Your gifts, how can we ever look upon You as anything more than an abstract concept that has no relevance to our current living? From where, then, shall we find the meaning to our living?
So, Lord, do not deprive us of all we need but give us always the graces to desire for You more intensely, to love You more faithfully, to know You more intimately, to serve You more humbly, and to do Your Holy Will more obediently. Amen.
22 July 2011, Friday
12.34am
No comments:
Post a Comment