"Put your trust in the Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . but your ass is mine."

anyone know the quote?

today i read a great chapter on prayer and want to share it with you. it is another glimpse of the book "dangerous prayer" by a Catholic priest, William O'Malley. and what better to celebrate st. patrick's day than to talk about a fellow irishman's writing.

in one of the chapters i read, O'Malley discusses the personal aspect of prayer and the usual expectation that humans put onto their own prayers. it is amazing how complex we make it, how desperate we make it, when in its essence it is nothing of the sort.

the author makes a excellent recurring reminder throughout the book that prayer is not meant for daily wish lists, continuing bantering like a one-way conversation, or even recounting some awesome understanding or revelation every time we take time to pray. rather it is just a time spend time with the amazing Creator who desires to spend time with you. it is good to hear those words that i forget so easily.

remember why you pray, not what you are praying for.

quotes:

"'Oh God, please make me less weak, less prone to temptation!' or 'Oh God, don't let my mother die!' or, 'Oh God, please end this war!' All of these begin to sound like attempts to remind a God who has grown absent-minded in old age that we are in need of help." (65)

"I think it is even worth picking our words carefully when we make such prayers of petition, so we actually do recognize that we are really asking not for a miracle but for the support of a Friend, the awareness of God's presence as we ourselves try to understand and cope and for the ability to see this event not from our cramped this-world point of view but from God's point of view." (68)