Umost humility and sincere devotion…
St. Benedict writes regarding prayer, “Whenever we want to ask a favor of someone powerful, we do it humbly and respectfully, for fear of presumption. How much more important, then, to lay our petitions before the God of all with the utmost humility and sincere devotion.”
Often times we go to God in prayer as if God was a buddy of ours. Of course it’s true that God is our friend. But I have some friends who I am very ‘chummy’ with and other friends for whom I have a deep admiration and respect. God is certainly a friend who deserves admiration and respect. When we offer up our petitions and concerns to God, we ought to remember that we are going before the one who created us, redeemed us and sustains us! Although God welcomes us before God’s throne with a loving openness, we should still strive to go before that throne “humbly and respectfully,” as Benedict instructs us. Going before God with humility and respect shows God that we understand and appreciate all God is, and that we have no desire to convey a sense of casual disrespect or conditional expectation.
When someone brings a concern before you with humility and respect, how do you respond? I hope it moves you to show that person the same respect and drives you towards an appreciation for who that person is and a compassion for what that person is going through. On the other hand, what about the person who comes before you with an expectation in such a casual way that there is no recognition of the time, energy and compassion that will flow out of you to meet their expectation? Perhaps you will meet their expectation anyway, but it would probably be difficult to do it with a pure heart (although God always does – how much greater God is than us!).
I encourage you to remember the gravitas of who God is as you go to God in prayer. The mere fact that our God, the author of all Creation, invites each of us to be in a personal and communal relationship with God is humbling enough. May we continue in that humility and respect as we go to our loving and welcoming God with our souls’ needs and concerns.
–Rev. Michael Maroon, Pastor of Prayer Ministries