Paradigms of prayer--wait
"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and He shall stengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord". "Truly my soul waits silently for God...wait silently O my soul, for God alone." "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He heard my cry."
There is a passive sense to waiting. Like waiting on a bus, or waiting on a delivery, we wait on the Lord. We wait for His second coming and triumphant return. We wait for His kingdom to come. We wait for healing, for answer to prayer, for whatever He would bring to us. And we wait each week for His coming in the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist. "When wilt Thou come to me O Lord?". He comes to us as often as we partake of His body and blood.
There is an active sense to waiting. Like waiting on tables, or serving customers, we wait or serve Christ. Patiently as He gives us direction, we go at the bidding of His word. We seek what He desires, and work for what He commands.
In both senses of waiting, there can be repetition. Not vain repetition, but a discipline of repeating and practicing the action of waiting. The contemplative practice I relate to this prayer of waiting is the repetition of the name of Jesus. We are called to "pray without ceasing" and "devote yourselves to prayer." "And I will do whatever you ask for in my name." Throughout the history of the church, there is one prayer that stands out as an anchor of faith, a beacon of hope for the lost. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." The repetition of the Jesus prayer can be that anchor to our contemplative lives. As we seek to constantly, or consistently, remember the name of Jesus in this prayer, we acquire inner peace that brings salvation to many.
There is a passive sense to waiting. Like waiting on a bus, or waiting on a delivery, we wait on the Lord. We wait for His second coming and triumphant return. We wait for His kingdom to come. We wait for healing, for answer to prayer, for whatever He would bring to us. And we wait each week for His coming in the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist. "When wilt Thou come to me O Lord?". He comes to us as often as we partake of His body and blood.
There is an active sense to waiting. Like waiting on tables, or serving customers, we wait or serve Christ. Patiently as He gives us direction, we go at the bidding of His word. We seek what He desires, and work for what He commands.
In both senses of waiting, there can be repetition. Not vain repetition, but a discipline of repeating and practicing the action of waiting. The contemplative practice I relate to this prayer of waiting is the repetition of the name of Jesus. We are called to "pray without ceasing" and "devote yourselves to prayer." "And I will do whatever you ask for in my name." Throughout the history of the church, there is one prayer that stands out as an anchor of faith, a beacon of hope for the lost. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." The repetition of the Jesus prayer can be that anchor to our contemplative lives. As we seek to constantly, or consistently, remember the name of Jesus in this prayer, we acquire inner peace that brings salvation to many.
posted by Jeff at
6:01 PM
