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SOME THOUGHTS ON PRAYER:
By Peter Cook
TWO THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE COLLECT FOR PURITY
I wonder what the heavenly community think when some of us start to pray. "Oh! Here comes what's-her-name. When she's on the phone with her friends she rattles on for hours, but praying to our Heavenly Father she hardly gives two sentences." Or again, "Here's what's-his-face. Boy does he use colorful language when he's at home, but up here you would think he's an aspiring student of Shakespeare!
I am not knocking Shakespeare. His was the language of the age our Prayer Book was written. The collects composed from Cranmer on are sheer music to tongue and ear. How they use multiple phrases to reach around the amazing grace of God is pure poetry. Collects such as the Collect for Purity offer only the very best to God in prayer.
What more perfect prayer of repentance is there than that. "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord." We can learn two things from this prayer. First, if the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects (James 5:16 ), what better prayer is there to put us in right-standing with God, and before we make our petitions and intercessions known to him.
The second thing we learn from the Collect of Purity is this. What better prayer to remind us that we can't keep secrets from God. We can't fool him. When you think about it, it is amazing how our reluctance to pray, or our attempt to put pious words to our prayers really are attempts to hide things from, or to fool God. Is it even conceivable - for us to forget how smart God is? Far better to do what the Psalmist often does, and that is just to let it all hang out, both the good stuff (praise) and the bad (complaints). God knows - we have both anyway.
Perhaps we might be more honest if prayer sometimes went like this. "Lord, you know the problems I have at home - with the family. I just don't know how or where to start. If you can't deal with it I don't know who can. Please. And maybe when you've finished, let me be just flabbergasted and amazed."
--Rev. Dr. Peter J.A. Cook, M.A. is rector of St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, in Lake Charles, in the Diocese of Western Louisiana
