Prayer

Reading Jill Carattini over at A SLICE OF INFINITY today reminded me of the importance of prayer and how I so often fall short in this area. There, in her article, she also posted a C.S. Lewis poem that I had seen before. It is simply entitled, "Prayer."

Master, they say that when I seem To be in speech with you, Since you make no replies, it's all a dream —One talker aping two. They are half right, but not as they Imagine; rather, I Seek in myself the things I meant to say, And lo! The wells are dry. Then, seeing me empty, you forsake The Listener's role, and through My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake The thoughts I never knew. And thus you neither need reply Nor can; thus, while we seem Two talking, thou are One forever, and I No dreamer, but thy dream.

Prayer is one of those things that still perplex me when I really stop and think. I know it is vitally important, but I also know that God knows my very thoughts before I even utter them, so I am constantly mulling over how God works in and through prayer, and whether my prayer really moves the heart of God, or is God moving me through this "medium" of prayer? As I revisit Lewis' Poem above, I'm reminded of another quote from John Bunyan, "When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart." What are your thoughts on prayer?