Being True to Yourself

From today's Sacred Space meditation:

If we are to encounter God truthfully in prayer, we must be real to ourselves. We need to be aware of what we are feeling. A mother will see her son come in from school, and know from his face and body-language that he is depressed, or resentful, or anxious, or whatever. If she asks him how he is, he is likely to say Fine. Most mothers will have the intuition and wit to lead him gently to put words on what he is feeling, and then to trace the happenings that led him to this state, such as a failure in school, a quarrel with a friend or worry about an exam. I remember a girl in school startling me – when I was a teacher – by asking Why are you angry today? She was right, but up to that point I had not realised that I was angry.

It is only when we are in touch with what is going on inside us that we can come before the Lord. Then I can experience the real me connecting with the real God. I t is not a case of apologising for my emotions. They are as pre-moral and innocent as feeling cold or shivery. When I bring those feelings to consciousness, as the Psalmist does with his anger and despair, then prayer become authentic.