Day 10
Prayer the church’s banquet, angel’s age,
God’s breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth
Engine against th’ Almighty, sinner’s tow’r,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s blood,
The land of spices; something understood.
George Herbert’s poem Prayer was written in the 16th century and has been dissected by theologians for centuries. In old English, it may not appear to be palatable to our 21st ear, but the piece does strive to convey the immensity of prayer.
It has been said that this poem points to prayer as:
- A natural instinct
- A nourishing friendship
- Changes us, those around us and the things around us
- Unites us with God
- Helps us endure
- Is the way to reality!!!
Question to ponder:
- How is prayer the way to reality?
Pray:
Be real with God in your conversation with him today.
