Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
where for forty days he was tempted.
—Luke 4.1-2
Lead me, Spirit,
into the wilderness of my own heart.
The empty places… exposed… eroded,
where I am utterly alone
with you.
Lead me to the forsaken places.
Guide me in the scary places.
Accompany me in the silent places,
far from all shouts and rumors,
where the only sound
is the wind of your breath.
Here I am vulnerable… weak… dependent.
My fears loom like heat waves;
my hungers chew at me
and dull me to my hunger for you;
my thirst for what I don’t have
dusts over what I have in you;
my desires skitter into shadows
like scorpions.
Here where I am so near to being lost
let me find myself in you.
Give me grace and strength
to stay long enough to be changed.
O Spirit of goodness,
be my hunger and my food,
my danger and my safety,
my wilderness and my good way home.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
Listen to the audio recording:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:49 — 2.5MB)