| 42. "Prayer is a right understanding of that fulness of joy that is to come" | ||||
OUR Lord God wills that we have true understanding, and specially in three things that belong to our prayer. The first is: by whom and how that our prayer springs. By whom, He shows when He says: I am [the] Ground; and how, by His Goodness: for He says first: It is my will. The second is: in what manner and how we should use our prayer; and that is that our will be turned to the will of our Lord, enjoying: and so means He when He says: I make you to will it. The third is that we should know the fruit and the end of our prayers: that is, that we be united and like to our Lord in all things; and to this intent and for this end was all this lovely lesson showed. And He will help us, and we shall make it so as He says Himself; Blessed may He be! | ||||
For this is our Lord's will, that our prayer and our trust be both alike large. For if we trust not as much as we pray, we do not full worship to our Lord in our prayer, and also we tarry and pain our self. The cause is, as I believe, that we know not truly that our Lord is [the] Ground on whom our prayer springs; and also that we know not that it is given us by the grace of His love. For if we knew this, it would make us to trust to have, of our Lord's gift, all that we desire. For I am sure that no man asks mercy and grace with true meaning, but if mercy and grace be first given to him. | ||||
But sometimes it comes to our mind that we have prayed long time, and yet we think to ourselves that we have not our asking. But herefor should we not be in heaviness. For I am sure, by our Lord's signifying, that either we abide a better time, or more grace, or a better gift. He wills that we have true knowing in Himself that He is Being; and in this knowing He wills that our understanding be grounded, with all our mights and all our intent and all our meaning; and in this ground He wills that we take our place and our dwelling, and by the gracious light of Himself He wills that we have understanding of the things that follow. The first is our noble and excellent making; the second, our precious and dearworthy again-buying; the third, all-thing that He has made beneath us, [He has made] to serve us, and for our love keeps it. Then signifies He thus, as if He said: Behold and see that I have done all this before your prayers; and now you are, and pray me. And thus He signifies that it belongs to us to learn that the greatest deeds be [already] done, as Holy Church teaches; and in the beholding of this, with thanking, we ought to pray for the deed that is now in doing: and that is, that He rule and guide us, to His worship, in this life, and bring us to His bliss. And therefor He has done all. | ||||
Then signifies He thus: that we [should] see that He does it, and that we [should] pray therefor. For the one is not enough. For if we pray and see not that He does it, it makes us heavy and doubtful; and that is not His worship. And if we see that He does, and we pray not, we do not our debt, and so may it not be: that is to say, so is it not [the thing that is] in His beholding. | ||||
But to see that He does it, and to pray forthwithal, so is He worshiped and we sped. All-thing that our Lord has ordained to do, it is His will that we pray therefor, either in special or in general. And the joy and the bliss that it is to Him, and the thanks and the worship that we shall have therefor, it passes the understanding of creatures, as to my sight. | ||||
For prayer is a right understanding of that fulness of joy that is to come, with well-longing and sure trust. Failing of our bliss that we be kindly ordained to, makes us to long; true understanding and love, with sweet mind in our Saviour, graciously makes us to trust. And in these two workings our Lord beholds us continually : for it is our due part, and His Goodness may no less assign to us. | ||||
Thus it belongs to us to do our diligence; and when we have done it, then shall us yet think that [it] is nought, and sooth it is. But if we do as we can, and ask, in truth, for mercy and grace, all that fails us we shall find in Him. And thus signifies He where He says: I am Ground of your beseeching. And thus in this blessed word, with the Showing, I saw a full overcoming against all our weakness and all our doubtful dreads. | ||||