I prayed the terrible prayer: “Thy will be done.†Having so prayed, I prayed for strength. That seemed reasonable and right enough. As did praying for forgiveness and the grace to forgive.
~~Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow.
I ponder what Wendell Berry calls, “the terrible prayer.” Faith is the serenity to trust beyond our experience. To pray for God’s will is to be willing to search His heart. That is the first step toward praying His will down to earth:
* Discern His heart and His will.
* Persevere in prayer for it.
* Act on that prayer.
* See it done.
Yes, and it is also the prayer in the Garden. Which, when you think of it, was “terrible” in the ancient sense of the word.