Continuing in the prayer book as I have been this week; I’m now moving onto the second Sunday in Lent with the subtitle, ‘Transfiguration’.

We beseech you, almighty God, look on the heartfelt desires of your servants, and stretch forth the right hand of your power to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer is interesting, because it somewhat throws you a bit, or at least, it did me.

‘The heartfelt desires of your servants’.

That phrase seems out of place in Lent. Isn’t Lent all about abstinence and self-denial? Why then a prayer asking for the deepest desires of the heart?

Isn’t that just wanting too much? Having the wrong focus? Being self-indulgent?

The prayers in the prayer book are written by wise believers, but they’re not divinely inspired. We can critique their theology in ways that we don’t with the Bible, which we should only interpret, not critique.

However, after reading the prayer over a few times I’m convinced that it is showing us the heart of God.

He does actually care about our heartfelt desires. And we can implore Him to act powerfully in accordance with these desires. Even to defend us against those who would attack these desires.

This is an amazing thing. As Christians, we have a God who actually cares about our hearts and not just in the attitudinal sense.

He knows what makes us tick. He knows what we long for. What we hope for. He knows it all, and so much more.

And he cares. And he can work powerfully to bring our desires to pass.

He doesn’t just tell us to read the Bible more, do more acts of service, get on another roster at church. He doesn’t just want us to take things out of our life or burden us with more. He wants us to ask Him to gift us with good things.

So that he might give them to us.

Yours doing some beseeching,

Alison