July 6, 2010
Daniel’s prayer is marvelous – truly a great prayer of Scripture. Its structure, content and methods are timeless and worth imitating.
What makes Daniels’ prayer so worthy of imitation? First it is a Biblical prayer. When studying his prayer we see that has vast knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. His prayer is laced with references and allusions from the Bible he knew. Daniel’s prayer shows that he doesn’t just know the Scriptures, but that he breathes them in and out.
Prayer is “God’s breath in man returning to its birth. When Daniel prayed he breathed the same Spirit that Abraham, Moses and Jeremiah breathed. He prayed what they prayed. Even when he was most alone he wasn’t. He was with the faithful people who came before him.
The language of prayer is overwhelmingly the language of the Bible. This is not to imply that using contemporary was something that Daniel never did or that it is less Spiritual than the Bible’s language. It is just that the Bible’s language dominated Daniel’s prayer life. The words of Scripture are not dead words they are alive and active. This kind of liturgical prayer can give new life and energy to our more spontaneous prayers.
Daniels’ prayer is a heartfelt prayer with passion. The strong biblical content and liturgical style did not take away from his sincerity. They strengthened it. Heartfelt prayers come straight from the heart, but sometimes the heart needs to be carried along. That is where the Bible and liturgy can serve us so well.
Powerful prayers come from a heart transformed by the Word of God and informed by the distilled wisdom of the church through the ages
Reading Psalms is like pushing a canoe and letting oneself be carried along on a stream of devotion that flows though the entire book.
My prayer: God open my ears to your Word that I may open my mouth in heartfelt prayers that are pleasing to you, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment