Prayer Is a Big Deal

Psalm 5

One of the morning psalms for today addresses God this way: “Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch” (Psalm 5:1-3). Like so many others psalms, this one is a prayer, but it is also a description of prayer. The psalmist speaks, sighs, cries, prays, pleads, and watches. Prayer, in this case, is far from passive and certainly not limited to perfunctory blessings at mealtime. It is an activity that subsumes the entire person and requires full attention. To pray like the psalmist in Psalm 5 is to be fully engaged and fully attentive. Nothing else will do but to gives oneself completely to the effort.

I have recently discovered the poetry of Mark Jarman. In his poem “Five Psalms” he writes:

First forgive the silence

That answers prayer,

Then forgive the prayer

That stains the silence.

Excuse the absence

That feels like presence,

Then excuse the feeling

That insists on presence.

Pardon the delay

Of revelation,

Then ask pardon for revealing

Your impatience.

Forgive God

For being only a word,

Then ask God to forgive

The betrayal of language.

(http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/241978)

There is a seriousness in the give and take of Jarman’s prayer that requires attention. One does not quickly fire off an appeal to God like a divine text message. Instead, prayer is hard work that involves the full mind and spirit, that recognizes God’s presence in the conversation and the total inadequacy of the one who prays. The relationship may appear equally balanced, but that is only because God lowers the divine self into that position.

If you are like me your prayers are far less serious than they should be. If you are like me there are way too many abbreviated “shopping list” prayers offered and far too few hours devoted to the hard work of meaningful conversation. As people of faith, however, we are charged with the responsibility of conversing with God, on behalf of ourselves and of others. It is, ultimately, worth the effort.

Prayer: Lord, forgive our inadequacy in prayer. Help us to approach you with respect and attentiveness that our words may have true meaning and our hearts be filled with the knowledge of your presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.