George Herbert (1593– 1633), is one of my favorite English Christian Poets. His poem describing prayer is a fascinating definition of prayer which can stretch our minds to grasp prayer in a way that leads to meditation, reflection and application. Herbert pens this definition of prayer by using short word phrases, but without using any verbs to show action. I suppose he intended us to supply the action by praying.
Prayer the church's banquet, angel's age,
God's breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth
Engine against th' Almighty, sinner's tow'r,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood,
The land of spices; something understood.
Select one of the phrases and ask your friends what they think of it as a description of prayer. Be ready with some thoughts of your own on each phrase. Most importantly, allow this definition of prayer to lead you to pray. Jesus described prayer to us in a parable after first giving his reason for doing so: And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart (Mt 18:1). Prayer with God is his prescription for our fainting heart.
