Lifted

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’” (John 3:7b-15).

Moses and the Brazen Serpent (Augustus John)

Prayer is such an important part of our relationship with God.

I have – through the Grace of God – been married for close to twenty years.  During that time – as with every relationship – there are highs and lows.  Sometimes the lowest time of the relationship occurs when there is a great desire to be close to my husband and for a variety of reasons, we are unable to spend time together and connect with each other.  That closeness and connection is perhaps the most important part of our relationship.  Without that we can misunderstand each other.  We can miscommunicate with each other.  We can fail to appreciate each other and we can stop loving each other.

I heard a psychologist address this once by saying that couples either need to spend time together each week getting to know each other actively during their long-term relationships, or they will spend the same amount of time divorcing from each other because they have failed to understand each other while they were together.

And prayer is just another marriage – between my God and me.  And God enters into this covenant with me through my baptism and my redemption through Grace and from God’s love.

And I have been thinking about that today.  You see, without investing the time into the experience of prayer, I will misunderstand my Beloved, miscommunicate with Him and fail to appreciate and love Him.  Perhaps this is just another reason why God gave my husband into my life?  Because with my husband here I am able to practice this respectful communication so that I will be able to communicate with my Divine Father and Spouse?

“Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘You must be born anew’...  Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can this be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen...  No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’” (John 3:7b-15).And it seems to me that prayer – prayed properly – is nothing more than a lifting up of myself to God and allowing Him to come close to me – welcoming His closeness…

Saint Teresa of Avila said, “Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”

 

And that is in essence what God is asking of me…  To be lifted up to Him and to love Him and to know Him.  And really, nothing else is as important as that!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.