I recently came across Howard Thurman’s Meditations of the Heart, which is filled with short prayers and meditations. While there is a treasure trove of riches in this small volume, one entry in particular has really caught my attention.
Meditation 29 in section V (Meditations of the Heart) reads as follows: (This is on pp. 188-189 in the 1st edition copy I’m reading, but the page numbers may be different in later editions.)
29. Lord, Lord, Open Unto Me
Open unto me—light for my darkness.
Open unto me—courage for my fear.
Open unto me—hope for my despair.
Open unto me—peace for my turmoil.
Open unto me—joy for my sorrow.
Open unto me—strength for my weakness.
Open unto me—wisdom for my confusion.
Open unto me—forgiveness for my sins.
Open unto me—tenderness for my toughness.
Open unto me—love for my hates.
Open unto me—Thy self for my self.
Lord, Lord, open unto me!
There are several things I love about this prayer. First, when I’m feeling overwhelmed and struggling, I can’t always clearly name what I’m feeling or what I need to soothe my difficult emotions. (And, let’s face it, most of us are feeling rather overwhelmed in one way or another between our personal lives and the state of the world right now.)
This poem gives me words to define my struggles—darkness, fear, despair, turmoil, etc.—and also points me toward what I need to seek out as an antidote to those struggles.
Second, it reminds me where those good things come from. All too often, I find myself turning to busyness or distraction or other external influences to help numb my difficult emotions. Asking God to “open unto me” these good gifts gets my focus back on the source from where all good things come.
Finally, even as I pray for God to “open unto me” these gifts (even the gift of God’s Divine Self), I’m reminded that these gifts of God are always there waiting for me whenever I stop to pay attention. Each request for these things is a reminder that what I truly need is to open myself and my heart to God and to these gifts God has to give.
For example, when I pray “Open unto me—wisdom for my confusion,” I’m not just asking God for wisdom, I’m also reminding myself that all wisdom comes from God and that I need to seek it there and open myself up to God’s wisdom in order to receive it. It’s as much a prayer of “Open me to Your wisdom” as it is a prayer for wisdom to be opened unto me.
The short phrases that make up this lovely prayer are also perfect for use as breath prayers. When I find myself struggling, carrying one of these breath prayers with me throughout my day is a good way to keep my inner gaze focused on God and not on the turmoil of this world.
Because I’m loving these so much, I’ve been adding them to my compilation of breath prayers (now in the More breath prayers post) weekly and will continue to do so throughout the whole prayer (breath prayers 138-149) in the coming weeks. (You can also find these on my Breath prayers Pinterest board, if they’re easier for you to save to your own collection that way.)
Since I’m limited in how much I can share in my breath prayer captions, I wanted to share more about this full prayer and what it means to me here. I hope you find it as helpful as I have!
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