“The souls learns to pray by praying…”
She asks for an apple before bed. It’s thundering and I know she’s scared, looking for a reason to stay in the kitchen a few minutes more. I don’t complain or shoo her off–I cut an apple. It only takes a few bites for her to ask the biting question: Are you scared Mom?
Oh, yes child. Afraid that I’ll cut the flesh of your innocence with my tongue.
Afraid that my bruised skin will one day be yours.
Afraid that I’ll miss the tender meat of grace right beneath the skin of trouble. I raise an eyebrow, “we’re all a little afraid.”
This night our fear pushes us into His presence. And yes, fear will find you praying. And prayer builds a faith–brick upon brick.
I wonder if, here on this blog, we can learn to see through the fog of fear together. On Fridays– fix our eyes on what we cannot see. See with shut lids the Savior lingering near. So faith will find a home here–in hearts that pray.
Our soul will learn to speak: With groanings, becoming a fertile ground of faith. His Spirit weeding out the sin so we can have God’s good will for our lives.
Then we can believe that a heavy heart is a sign of Him calling us close:
“Help me to honour thee by believing before I feel, for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith.”
I’m convinced that I do not struggle in this alone. That faith is the grail that we must learn to read life right. And when I see nothing-something great will soon appear because God loves creating from scratch.
“Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will, by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy…Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise from several degrees of prayer, that when faith is begun it is imperfect and must grow, as chapped ground opens wider and wider until rain comes.”
I want Christ to drench us in the wastefulness of grace. That we will open wide for His waters. That His good pleasure will be to give us more of Himself through our petitions. Won’t this make the world less frightening, a faith that’s sure. Our Holy Grail to Heaven.
Excerpts of this prayer: The Divine Will {Valley of Vision}
What are you afraid of? I want to pray for you. I sincerely believe that this blog is for the building up of the broken and I want to see Christ center stage in your life! Leave me a comment and I will join you in seeking His face.
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