Prayer Pondered
© 2011, M. Justin Wainscott
The vivid verbs of prayer –
yearning, longing,
hungering, thirsting,
asking, seeking,
beseeching, pleading,
needing, crying out –
along with the emotive actions of prayer –
weeping, wailing,
kneeling, bowing,
silence, shouting,
beating our breast
and clinching our fists –
should teach us all a truth about prayer:
It is humility in action,
evidence of our inadequacy.
Prayer reveals our weakness,
but it magnifies God’s strength.
It is the most earnest expression
of our faith and dependence.
We are poor beggars, ‘tis true,
but riches untold are at our disposal.
So keep longing,
keep yearning,
keep trusting,
keep crying, child of God.
You’re not an orphan;
your Father hears you,
and He will answer.
