Longing for PrayerOur all-providing God, At this moment we long for prayer, peace, joy, sanctification, now that we stand before you. Often there are great walls, strong barriers, obstacles blocking the way, and it becomes impossible for us to achieve our desires. That is why we suffer so much, we feel anxious, we feel ourselves thrown upon life's mercy. If we understood that longing for prayer, wishing for it, already means prayer, we would be happier. The lungs need fresh air; the heart needs fresh, oxygenated blood. In the same way, we need to meet you in our souls, to meet you in truth, on both holy days and weekdays. Our other self, that stays behind, is the human being of the weekdays, with its tempers, its selfishness, hardness and roughness. But the self that stands in front of you now, wants not only to be more joyful, but also much better, cleaner, more understanding, more generous and true. Our wish for rebirth, to be different, becomes a torturing thirst. We beg for your nearness that cleanses us, sanctifies us, elevating our souls. That is why we read the Book of Books, the Book of Life, the Scripture, the Book of Good News, "The Home Pharmacy of Mankind" as Goethe called the Gospel. We read it to enable darkness and sadness to vanish from our souls. The Gospel, the good message, is always young, even though we often feel old. Even if we have not gathered many years, we often feel old because we do not understand the truth of the Gospel's contents. Prayer means closeness to God, leading to everlasting youth. This is the beginning of Christian self-consciousness. This is why we pray to You now, just as, long ago, the disciples asked the Master, "Please teach us how to pray.' |