“Once we have understood that God is disposed towards us as
a father, confident perseverance in prayer is a natural consequence.
‘Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened for you.
For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for
everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.’ (Luke 11:9-10).
The one who gives and opens is God. Ask, search, knock. Ask
for everything, ask for the Spirit, seek God, knock at the door of the Kingdom
(‘Lord, open to us,’ 12:25-7). Knock at
the door which is Christ, he who is the way to the Father; through his wounds
we have access to the Father, who, the first, is seeking after us in his Son. ‘Listen!
I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I
will come to you and eat with you, and you with me’ (Revelation 3:20). So, when
I pray, my prayer is only an echo of God’s prayer. In that case, how could he refuse, refuse
himself? What a mystery prayer is.”
(From “Interior Prayer” by a Carthusian, p. 29)
It seems like from reading this that God's answer to our prayers is Himself. God's presence and fellowship is his answer. How could we want more?
ReplyDeleteVery true, Bob! My son just began college at a Benedictine school in South Dakota, and at the orientation, they emphasized the importance of being aware of the presence of God at all times. By the way, I've enjoyed your pictures and stories of your journey to Wyoming.
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