One of the purposes of prayer is to open us up to God's Presence within us. We are temples of the Most High and prayer and meditation open us up to this reality.When we pray we are giving The Lord access to our innermost beings. He removes the bandaids that we have put on our wounds so that He can access them. A bandaid doesn't fix a wound, it simply covers it. These bandages are the protective devices that we have put up over the years. Our defenses. Sometimes God removes them slowly. Sometimes quickly. Ouch! We are shocked at how much the wound has festered. Next time we'll go right to the Divine Physician.
God heals us. I have often been told over the years that I really should do certain prayers a specific number of times for them to be answered. Nonsense. God can hear the softest whisper. God can read our hearts. He doesn't NEED our prayers. He is completely self-sufficient on his own. However, He knows that we NEED HIM! It's not the formula but the heart that matters. People can get attached to certain prayers and forget that it's not the prayer but the GOD behind the prayer that matters. Does this mean we shouldn't do novenas? Of course it doesn't. But neither should we think that if we follow a specific prayer formula our prayers will be stronger and more likely to be answered. Better 1 heartfelt prayer than 20 mumbled ones.
Amen.
Hi Colleen! That's a great quote and one I've never heard before.
ReplyDeleteNo grandbaby yet? I noticed that you didn't post and thought that maybe today was the big day. I'll pray for them.
So true. God is greatly desiring to heal us Mary. He wants to do so much for us. It is that openness from ourselves that He is waiting on. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteOh, Mary...this is so true! Very well written!
ReplyDeleteYes, absolutely! "God can hear the softest whisper" and "it's not the formula but the heart that counts" Love those! I need to be reminded of that over and over again when the guilt starts creeping in!
ReplyDeleteHi Anne! I wrote this post to remind myself of this truth. Sometimes I forget :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. I have several books of lovely prayers and sometimes I think that I should be praying them all. But in reality, if I just pray my Rosary and the Divine Office plus a little spiritual reading every day, that is the best I can do without neglecting my other duties while rationing my energy. It's true about repetitive prayers. Sometimes God wants us to badger Him because we need to do it for our spiritual welfare. But sometimes prayers can become superstitious or magical in people's minds. When they are not answered in a way we can recognize (often God gives us something else or better) we get discouraged and quit praying. Our Father is not to be manipulated. And He does hear the most heartfelt soft whisper. Heartfelt is the key.
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