A Deer Praises God by Being A Deer

In Romans 8 Paul addresses the issue of prayer:

The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;

for we do not know how to pray as we ought,

but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.

And the one who searches hearts

knows what is the intention of the Spirit,

because he intercedes for the holy ones

according to God’s will.

What is prayer? Is prayer incessant babbling? Is prayer our human effort to conform God’s will to our way, our wants and needs?

Prayer is none of the above. Jesus told us not to babble like the pagans. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus taught us that prayer is about doing God’s will and not our will.

In fact, Jesus told us to go into our rooms and to pray to our Heavenly Parent in secret. There is a silent inexpressible dimension to prayer. In centering prayer, we enter into God’s language—silence. Silence is the ground of our relationship to God. Continue reading →