Chapter 23: On Prayer ~ Gibran’s The Prophet with Journaling Prompts
Then a priestess said, Speak to us
of Prayer.
And he answered, saying:
You pray in your distress and in your
need; would that you might pray also
in the fullness of your joy and in your
days of abundance.
For what is prayer but the expansion of
yourself into the living ether?
And if it is for your comfort to pour
your darkness into space, it is also for
your delight to pour forth the dawning
of your heart.
And if you cannot but weep when your
soul summons you to prayer, she should
spur you again and yet again, though
weeping, until you shall come laughing.
When you pray you rise to meet in the
air those who are praying at that very
hour, and whom save in prayer you
may not meet.
Therefore let your visit to that temple
invisible be for naught but ecstasy and
sweet communion.
For if you should enter the temple for
no other purpose than asking you shall
not receive:
And if you should enter into it to
humble yourself you shall not be lifted:
Or even if you should enter into it to
beg for the good of others you shall not
be heard.
It is enough that you enter the temple
invisible.
*****
I cannot teach you how to pray in words.
God listens not to your words save when
He Himself utters them through your
lips.
And I cannot teach you the prayer of the
seas and the forests and the mountains.
But you who are born of the
mountains and the forests and the seas
can find their prayer in your heart,
And if you but listen in the stillness
of the night you shall hear them saying
in silence,
“Our God, who art our winged self, it is
thy will in us that willeth.
It is thy desire in us that desireth.
It is thy urge in us that would turn our
nights, which are thine, into days which
are thine also.
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou
knowest our needs before they are born
in us:
Thou art our need; and in giving us more
of thyself thou givest us all.”
***** *****
~ Chapter 23 “On Prayer” from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Spirit Nourished Earth created the image in this post in collaboration with DALL·E 3
Journaling Prompts for Self-Reflection
The Essence of Prayer
Gibran speaks of prayer as an expansion of oneself into the living ether. How can you experience prayer in moments of distress and in times of joy and abundance?
The Language of the Heart
Gibran suggests that God listens not to your words but to what is uttered through your lips by the divine. How do you listen for God’s voice in your life beyond your words?
Seeking Beyond Need
Prayer is often seen as a request for comfort or help. How can you approach prayer with a sense of ecstasy and communion, not just for personal need, but as an offering to the divine?
The Silent Prayer of Nature
According to Gibran, nature prays in silence, and humans can find this prayer within themselves. How do you listen to the silent prayers of the world around you, and how can you align with them in your own life?
Continue the Conversation
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