by Deacon Mark Danis | November 26, 2024 12:05 am
The Masters of prayer teach us that progress in prayer moves along a continuum from need to desire. What does this mean?
When we were children, we turned to our parents to ask for, and most often received, what we believed we needed. Of course, there was a difference between what we needed and what we wanted, but the same is often true in our prayer life.
Like spiritual children, in the early stages of our prayer life, we often ground our prayers in what we believe we need, and occasionally in what we want. And, like an indulgent parent, God wants us to know that He loves us and wants to make us happy, so He will often respond favorably to our requests for the things we want.
However, as we mature, both as adults and as spiritual persons, our disposition in our conversations with our parents, or with God, begin to transition from one of need to one of desire. The desire is no longer for the things we need, and even less so for those things we may merely want. Instead, our focus is on spending time with a parent, or, hopefully, spending time with God.
As adults, we eventually come to a place where we are not turning to our parents to ask for what we want, but rather, we are seeking to have conversation with them. As we mature, we are more interested in spending time with a parent, speaking with them, listening to them. We want to hear their story. But we also want to share our plans with them, as well as our dreams and even our pains. Does this sound familiar? it should, it is what we call prayer.
At the later stages of the journey of prayer, we are more interested in relationship. Our Desire is to get to know and understand our parent – God, even as we begin to reveal ourselves to Him. This is a time when we begin to focus our thoughts on what is eternal, as opposed to what is merely temporal.
And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
This is what prayer is like, it moves through continuous stages of development toward a deepening desire for intimacy, understanding, revelation and connection. As this process continues, we eventually come to a place where we begin to get a glimpse of God’s eternal plan and of just how much Our Father loves us. We also begin to understand and recognize those occasions where we have failed to respond to that love. This will be identified in our relationships with other people, but it will also be recognized in the way we have neglected to spend time with God, to thank Him for the blessing of our life. And we will also recognize the ways in which we have failed to conform ourselves to His Will for our lives. This will initially bring some measure of remorse and regret, but we should not become discouraged. Instead, we should begin to pray,
“God, show me how to love you.”
This is where the flame of desire begins to flare up in our hearts. We will come to recognize that life is short, and even had we begun to pray and love God in earnest as young children, our lifetime would not have been long enough for us to express to God how much we love Him in return.
In truth, very few souls ever rise to this level of prayer in this life. For most, this understanding only comes when they go to see God face to face.
For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
But this does not mean that we should not aspire to this desire for an intimate encounter with God, even in this life. Truly He desires to be with us in this intimate way, we need only respond to His call in prayer.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Copyright © Mark Danis
Image credit: “King David in Prayer” (detail) Pieter de Grebber [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons[1]
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