Prayer: Anselm of Canterbury

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | Lent Meditations, Spiritual Disciplines

Over the next few days, we’ll be concentrating on prayer. Freely expressing our heart to God in our own words is so important, but sometimes it can be very helpful to pray using the words of Scripture or of other Christians who have gone before us. In conjunction with praying in our own words, using written prayers can help us pray in ways we have not prayed before.

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) was a Benedictine monk who wrote some beautiful and challenging prayers. Would you take a moment to pray the following prayers to God? You can use written prayers on their own, as they are written, or you can pray a sentence or two, pray more in your own words, and then continue. Remember that there are no “rules”; this is an open conversation with your Father.

I acknowledge, Lord, and I give thanks that you have created your image in me, so that I may remember you, think of you, love you. But this image is so obliterated and worn away by wickedness, it is so obscured by the smoke of sins, that it cannot do what it was created to do, unless you renew and reform it. I am not attempting, O Lord, to penetrate your loftiness, for I cannot begin to match my understanding with it, but I desire in some measure to understand your truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this too I believe, that “unless I believe, I shall not understand.” (Isaiah 7:9)

O God, let me know you and love you so that I may find joy in you; and if I cannot do so fully in this life, let me at least make some progress every day, until at last that knowledge, love and joy come to me in all their plenitude. While I am here on earth let me know you fully; let my love for you grow deeper here, so that there I may love you fully. On earth then I shall have great joy in hope, and in heaven complete joy in the fulfillment of my hope.

Tags: Lent 2010, Prayer