Psalms 26, 28
“I wash my
hands—they are innocent! I walk all around your altar, LORD.” (Psalm 26:6,
Common English Bible). This is the language of ritual prayer, or to use a less
religious term, “habitual prayer.” The ceremonial washing of hands, the formal
procession around the altar: these are the formal prayers uttered at set times
during the day. One may not always feel very holy that day. But you still do
it, every day, because it is your duty to worship, to acknowledge the true
worth of God in your life.
And
sometimes, we are, in the words of C.S. Lewis, “surprised by joy.” Perhaps we’ve
had a close call: “I cry out to you, LORD…If you won’t talk to me, I’ll be just
like those going down to the pit” of death (Psalm 28:1). And we have escaped.
God has met us in our habitual prayer. And now we break out in spontaneous song:
“Bless the LORD because he has listened to my request for mercy!...I was
helped, my heart rejoiced, and I thank him with my song” (Ps. 28:6,7).
The habit of
prayer prepares us for spontaneous prayer. The ritual of prayer prepares us to
be surprised by joy. May you be habitual in prayer, and surprised by joy this
Advent.
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