Open your hands when you pray

"When you want to pray, then, the first question is: How do I open my closed hands? Certainly not by violence. Nor by a forced decision. Perhaps you can find your way to prayer by carefully listening to the words the angel spoke to Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, and the women at the tomb: “Don’t be afraid.” Don’t be afraid of the One who wants to enter your most intimate space and invite you to let go of what you are clinging to so anxiously.  ... Don’t be afraid to offer your hate, bitterness, and disappointment to the One who is love and only love. Even if you know you have little to show, don’t be afraid to let it be seen."

Dear God,

    I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!

    Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?

    Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?

    Please help me to gradually open my hands

    and to discover that I am not what I own,

    but what you want to give me.

    And what you want to give me is love—

    unconditional, everlasting love.

    Amen.

Source: Henri J.M. Nouwen,  2006. With Open Hands. Second revised edition. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press.

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