My Father, I have moments of deep unrest—moments when I do not know what to ask because of the excess of my needs. In these dark hours I have no words for you, no conscious prayers for you. My cry seems purely worldly. “I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find a place to rest.” Yet you always accept my unrest as a prayer. You interpret its cry for a dove’s wings as a cry for you. You receive the nameless longings of my heart as the inexpressible groans of your Spirit. They are not yet the intercessions of my spirit. I do not know what I ask. But you know what I ask, my God. You know that need which lies beneath my groans that are not expressed in words. Because I am made in your image, I can find rest only in what gives rest to you. In your forgiving mercy you have counted my unrest as righteousness and have received my groaning as your Spirit’s prayer; through Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen.
George Matheson (1842-1906). Revised from Prayers Ancient and Modern.
Prayers Ancient Made Modern (annotated) is available in print and on Amazon Kindle through Amazon.com.
Based on Prayers Ancient and Modern originally selected and arranged by Mary Wilder Tileston, 1897. Now in public domain.
This edition, Prayers Ancient Made Modern, revised by Paul C. Stratman, copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.
Reprinted from Prayers Ancient Made Modern, copyright © 2024 Paul C. Stratman.
A Collection of Prayers 