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Tuesday, January 29, 2008 Meditation 2 Samuel 6:12-19 Prayer can take many forms. Just consider the scene in today’s first reading, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He not only had many sacrifices offered, he also danced before God with childlike abandon! This probably wasn’t what most people were expecting of their king. They were probably surprised at his lack of decorum. Yet David was so filled with joy that he let all pretenses fall away and danced freely before the God who had been so good to him and his people. Our prayer, too, can—and should—take many forms. Don’t you sometimes feel like dancing before God in your prayer time? Go ahead! How about singing a song to him, something you just made up? If it seems appropriate, give it a try. What about marching around the room as a symbolic way of sharing in Jesus’ victory over sin and death? Or running through the forest, delighting in God’s gift of the created world? Or letting out a big belly laugh because the Lord has made you joyful? Or maybe falling prostrate before the Lord, saying the name of Jesus over and over again? These, and so many other forms of prayer, can be just as acceptable as sitting before God in long silence, praying the rosary, or just talking to God as familiarly as you would talk to your neighbor. Sometimes, we can feel constrained by conventions and structured forms of prayer. Certainly, traditional, structured ways of prayer have their place and can be very powerful in helping us build up our relationship with God. But God also wants us to feel free to express ourselves spontaneously if we feel it is appropriate. An unstructured expression of worship, love, or gratitude may very well help us break through to a deeper relationship with God. Remember that God is your Father. He loves you as his very own child. Children are naturally spontaneous and free, and you can be this way before God. He delights in seeing his children coming before him in many different ways. Why not take a chance and become a little spontaneous as you let your Father know how much you love him? “Jesus, as you rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, teach me also to express my joy and worship. You are great, O Lord, and I take delight in you!” Psalm 24:7-10; Mark 3:31-35 |
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