Flowering Faith

Here is my childhood prayer which I learned from my spiritually seeking mother who learned it from her Rhadhaswami guru:

White Rose Chain

today I will think good thoughts

I will do only good deeds

my heart will then be pure as a white rose

and I will see God in everything

While well aware that I could never live up to such perfection, I savored the beauty of these words.

Later I learned the Lord's Prayer which Yeshua taught:

לָכֵן כָּךְ הִתְפַּלְּלוּ אַתֶּם: אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, יִתְקַדֵּשׁ שִׁמְךָ, תָּבוֹא מַלְכוּתְךָ, יֵעָשֶׂה רְצוֹנְךָ

כְּבַשָּׁמַיִם גַּם בָּאָרֶץ. תֵּן לָנוּ אֶת לֶחֶם צָרְכֵּנוּ הַיּוֹם, וּמְחַל לָנוּ אֶת חוֹבוֹתֵינוּ כְּמוֹ שֶׁגַּם אֲנַחְנוּ מָחַלְנוּ לְחַיָּבֵינוּ. וְאַל תְּבִיאֵנוּ לִידֵי נִסָּיוֹן, אֶלָּא הַצִּילֵנוּ מִן הָרָע, כִּי שֶׁלְּךָ הִיא הַמַּלְכוּת וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאָרָה לְעוֹלְמֵי עוֹלָמִים.

הכרזת מתי ו:ט-יג

Therefore pray in this way: "Our Father in heaven, holy is Your name, may Your kingdom come, may Your will be done

as in the heavens also in the earth. Give us the bread we need today, and forgive us our offenses, as we forgive those who offend us. And lead us not to trials, but deliver us from evil, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for eternity of eternities."

Matthew 6:9-13

Such relief from pressure to be perfect! This pattern of praise, supplication, and thanksgiving is common to both Jewish and Christian prayer.

In contemplating the Word of God, I feel blessed to learn Hebrew and know Yeshua. The letters and sounds nourish my eternal being; Messiah vitalizes my spiritual roots with living water that flows from Beyond.

Believers sense that the Bible is bread from heaven that feeds our souls. These life giving words are most nutritious in their natural state, unprocessed by doctrines that detract from the deep and translations that placate the profound.

As we meditate on Scripture, the Holy Spirit, the light by which the Word was written, shines to illuminate more and more. As we ponder paradox and embrace mystery rather than trying to fit verses into formulas, the Bible opens like a flower spreading petals to welcome us.

נָבִיא מִקִּרְבְּךָ

מֵאַחֶיךָ כָּמֹנִי

יָקִים לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ

אֵלָיו תִּשְׁמָעוּן

דברים יח:טו

“A prophet from among you,

from your countrymen like me,

HaShem your God will raise up for you;

to him you will listen."

Deuteronomy 18:15

וְהֵחֵל מִמֹּשֶׁה וּמִכָּל הַנְּבִיאִים,

וּפֵרֵשׁ לָהֶם עַל עַצְמוֹ

מִכָּל הַכְּתוּבִים.

הכרזת לוקס כד:כז

"And he started from Moses and from all the prophets,

and he explained to them about himself

from all the Scriptures."

Luke 24:27