Prayer

Date: 11 August 2005 03:56:50

In your prayers there is no need for high-flown words, for it is the simple and unsophisticated babblings of children that have more often won the heart of the Father in heaven.

Try not to talk excessively in your prayer, in case your mind is distracted by the search for words. One word from the Publican sufficed to please God, and a single utterance saved the thief. Talkative prayer frequently distracts the mind and deludes it, whereas brevity makes for concentration.

St. John Climacus, The Spiritual Ladder, 28

A blessing to hear this as I'm finding words hard to find at this point in time. There is nothing, I believe, particularly troubling me; I'm just finding prayer a bit of a struggle at the moment.

And may this remain with me when, God willing, I find my voice again and slip into the belief I need to pray in "high-flown" words.