"Henri Nouwen said toward the end of his life that prayer had become for him primarily a time of 'listening to the blessing.' 'The real 'work' of prayer,' he said, 'is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me.' That may sound self-indulgent, he admitted, but not if it meant seeing himself as the Beloved, a temple in which God chose to dwell."

 The real 'work' of prayer  8/22/02

I recently read an article by Philip Yancy that got my attention (Christianity Today, 10/25/99). Here's a short quote:

"Henri Nouwen said toward the end of his life that prayer had become for him primarily a time of 'listening to the blessing.' 'The real 'work' of prayer,' he said, 'is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me.' That may sound self-indulgent, he admitted, but not if it meant seeing himself as the Beloved, a temple in which God chose to dwell."

Yancy and Nouwen are speaking of the relationship between the Lord and an individual. These same insights apply to the relationship between the Lord and the church. Jesus is the Bridegroom and His Bride is the church (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-27, 31f.; Rev. 19:7; 21:2; 22:17). Or, we might say that Jesus is our Lover and we are His Beloved.

We gain a clearer picture of how God sees the relationship and communication between the Lover and the Beloved in the Song of Songs. These two are continually delighting in each other. The romantic dialogue goes on and on, back and forth.

Lover: "How beautiful you are, my darling! (1:15).

Beloved: "How handsome you are, my lover!" (1:16).


Consider these comments on the Song of Songs:

"The Song of Songs is one long description of the rapture, the unquenchable yearning and the restless willingness and readiness, with which both partners in this covenant hasten towards an encounter." Karl Barth

"All the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies." Rabbi Akiba

"The first word in the Song (in Hebrew) is "Kiss me!" (yissaqeni) - a direct, and passionate, appeal for intimacy. This person does not want to talk about theology, does not want to gossip about love, does not want to get on a committee to do something for God...The lonely isolation of the solitary person must be invaded. Life, to be meaningful, must be joined: intimacy is a requirement of wholeness." Eugene Peterson

"We never know how good we can look, how delightful we can feel, or how strong we can be until we hear ourselves addressed in love by God or by one who represents God's love to us." Eugene Peterson