Merton on Prayer

by Janet Cassidy

I want to share with you a little tidbit I read in a Pocket Book compilation of writings by Thomas Merton. If you are not familiar with Merton, I should start by telling you that he was an author and a very famous monk. He wrote on non-violence, prayer/meditation and spirituality, etc. One of his most famous works is his autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain.

Anyway, while so many of us struggle with setting aside time for quiet, peaceful prayer, Merton tells us our distractions are a good thing! He writes:

“If you have never had any distractions, you don’t know how to pray. For the secret of prayer is a hunger for God and for the vision of God, a hunger that lies far deeper than the level of language or affection. And a man whose memory and imagination are persecuting him with a crowd of useless or even evil thoughts and images may sometimes be forced to pray far better, in the depths of his murdered heart, than one whose mind is swimming with clear concepts and brilliant purposes and easy acts of love.”

May you embrace your obstacles to prayer and let them instill in you a greater hunger for God.

Janet Cassidy, columnist and freelance writer is author of Cassidy Comments, a biweekly e-letter. To subscribe, please send an email to cassidycomments@yahoo.com with a subject of "subscribe."
© Spiritual Woman Press, 2005. All rights reserved.