If we can let ourselves go in prayer and speak all that is in our minds and hearts, if we can sit quietly and bear the silence, we will hear all the bits and pieces of ourselves crowding in on us, pleading for our attention. Prayer’s confession begins with this racket, for prayer is noisy with the clamor of all the parts of us demanding to be heard. The clamor is the sound of the great river of being flowing in us.
Ann & Barry Ulanov, Primary Speech, with thanks to Inward/Outward
This is another of those places where the relationship between contemplation and intercession becomes clearer and clearer. The "great river of being" is more than just "all the parts of us demanding to be heard": it is broken creation itself demanding to be heard, crying out in our hearts for healing... As Paul says, in that most wonderful chapter 8 of his letter to the Romans (vv 18-27), it is in some extraordinary way through us that creation will be restored. That has to be our prayer: for Christ to make all things new (Rev 21:5) no matter what the cost - and this is the scary bit - to ourselves (Romans 8:17).
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