Heart Gifts....series

Anywhere Is a Place of Prayer If God Is There

 

I have prayed on my knees in the morning,
I have prayed as I walked along,

I have prayed in the silence and darkness

And I have prayed to the tune of a song-

I have prayed in the midst of triumph

And I've prayed when I suffered defeat,

I have prayed on the sands of the seashore

Where the waves of the ocean beat-

I have prayed in a velvet-hushed forest

Where quietness calmed my fears,

I have prayed through suffering and heartache

When my eyes were blinded with tears-

I have prayed in churches and chapels,

Cathedrals and synagogues, too,

But often I've had the feeling

That my prayers were not getting through,

And I realized then that our Father

Is not really concerned where we pray

Or impressed by our manner of worship

Or the eloquent words that we say...

He is only concerned with our feelings,

And He looks deep into our heart

And hears the "cry of our soul's deep need"

That no words could ever impart...

So it isn't the prayer that's expressive

Or offered in some special spot,

It's the sincere plea of a sinner

And God can tell whether or not

We honestly seek His forgiveness

And earnestly mean what we say,

And then and then only He answers

The prayer that we fervently pray.

~Helen Steiner Rice