From the Heart

 by Tom Fairman 

Praying Hands by Albrecht Durer

Prayer is one of the three central pillars of Lent. We are encouraged during this time to increase our prayer time as a way of drawing closer to God in preparation for the amazing celebration of Easter. Prayer has many forms and many objectives, but ultimately prayer is what defines our relationship with God in the same way our communication defines our relationships with each other. 

We love to spend time talking to our friends because that helps us to connect and share our lives with each other. It nourishes and replenishes our relationship as well as giving us energy as shared stories, worries and joys make them easier to bear. We speak affirmation and love to our partners so they can experience and know our feelings for them. These words spoken from the heart are crucial to sustain our relationships. 

Sometimes, we don't know what to say to each other and so we just spend time in the presence of the other, communicating almost at a deeper level of comfortable silence. The disciples experienced this, but often failed to fully understand. As Peter, James and John observed Jesus revealing a glimpse of His divinity during the transfiguration, they did not know what to say. They had climbed the mountain, spent time in Jesus' presence and finally experienced this incredible moment, but felt the need to say something. We don't always need to fill the silence of prayer and can learn a lot by holding our tongue and basking in the presence of God. 

Yet there are times when we need to speak out in our relationships. When we get things wrong, we need to say sorry. If we are hurt, we need to express our feelings, as to not do it can lead to a wound festering and growing and ripping us apart. This is an incredibly difficult expression to make and the challenge comes in the sincerity of our confession. How often do we say or remember our parents telling us to say sorry again, but this time like we mean it? A prayer of contrition and a plea for forgiveness makes you vulnerable and opens you up to the mercy of the other. This is why it can be so difficult to do. How can you trust that the other will not seek vengeance and accept our apology? Ultimately, we can't, but we step out in faith because that is where our healing comes from and, fortunately, we have a God who is slow to anger and rich in mercy. 

To be taken seriously in this moment, though, requires a deep, meaningful confession. One of the best examples we have for this is the city of Nineveh. When Jonah came to give the message that they needed to repent, the whole city, even the livestock, put on sackcloth, fasted and sat in ashes in the hope they would be forgiven. This was true repentance, showing a deep change in their heart, a deep desire to change and turn back to God. The nature of a penitential act requires this movement of the heart rather than a few choice words and is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so powerful and necessary. 

However, there are times where we don't even know where to start with our prayer, where the silence seems constricting and we struggle to feel God's presence. Then, we struggle to find the words to express our contrition, struggle with the idea of who God is, struggle to believe the relationship exists at all. In these moments, we reach out like the disciples did when they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus gave them and us the "Our Father" as a way to express ourselves and connect with God, even when we feel unable to. This beautiful prayer expresses everything that needs to be said: our praise, our contrition and our intercessions. It is a haven for us in our prayer time, a life jacket when we are struggling. It is a branch to cling on to when we are falling. 

Therefore, as we reach out for God's presence more in prayer during this Lent, let us make our prayer unceasingly, from the heart with sincerity, enjoying His presence, His forgiveness and His beautiful words that sustain us.