prayer - from head to heart

Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.
Soren Kierkegaard

***

in the intervening space between now and the days before, i came to learn the difference between prayer with the head and prayer with the heart.

i found that all this while, my prayer had been my mind speaking to God, sometimes petitioning him and sometimes engaging him in an intellectual debate, trying to get answers out of him on issues which had been bothering me.

i listened to his replies but i was always focused on what to say next. my head was working feverishly to decide the things i needed to sort out in my various mental filing cabinets before i could continue talking to Him in my prayer time.

i have come to learn to let my heart speak to Him instead, sitting still and quietly. and listen with my heart as well.

in doing so, i discovered clarity, peace and better yet, felt for myself the love of a God who gave up His only son for me. i, who have always loved beauty whether in artform or in words, began to feel the stirrings of the most beautiful in my heart. from the start, He has always wanted me to be happy.

my mind still rushes on, hither and thither. but within my heart, there is a space where my God and i speak. and live.

i opened this with a quote from one of my favourite philosophers, Soren Kierkegaard. and i end with another quote from him.

to live the love of God, that is both call and challenge.

***

The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.
Soren Kierkegaard