Prayer

Prayer

Prayer, the Church's banquet, Angels' age, God's breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet, sounding heav'n and earth;

Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tower, Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear, The six days world-transposing in an hour, A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;

Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss, Exalted manna, gladness of the best, Heaven in ordinary, man well dressed, The Milky Way, the Bird of Paradise;

Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood, The land of spices, something understood.

~George Herbert (1593-1633)

I like to think of prayer as singing in tune with the voice of God.  I believe my entire life has been given to intercession and song, in one way or another.  By His grace I am still learning to listen to His notes and sound The Holy.

In a similar way, George Herbert, a Welsh poet, orator, Anglican priest and according to a friend, a most glorious saint and seer, describes his poems as "pictures of spiritual conflict between my soul and God before I could subject my will to Jesus, my Master." (1)

In the hearts of all who linger here let there be "softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss!"

And at every corner may you discover the ringing of laughter, the sounds of "gladness of the best."

Blessings in this joyous season.

Melissa

(1) Maycock A L, Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding,SPCK,London 1938

Photo Courtesy: flickr - xlibber