George Herbert on Prayer (9)

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. Proverbs 18.10

Prayer the church’s banquet, angel’s age,
   God’s breath in man returning to his birth,
   The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth
Engine against th’ Almighty, sinner’s tow’r,
   Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
   The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
   Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
   Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
   Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s blood,
   The land of spices; something understood.
                                                      - George Herbert

Toward the end of the period of the Celtic Revival, when raids from Norsemen were increasing, many of the ancient monasteries erected high towers as places of refuge when troubles appeared. They sang of God as their “High Tower” for all their daily needs, and they resorted to prayer as a symbolic refuge from their daily struggles – a personal high tower available to them at all times.

George Herbert knew this tradition, and he knew the song, “Be Thou My Vision.” Prayer, which we enter in the name of God and Christ, is a high tower, a place of refuge from the things that batter and threaten us. But notice especially that Herbert refers to prayer as the “sinner’s” tower. Why this, in particular?

Because sinners like you and me are constantly reminded by the Accuser that we are what we are. We don’t measure up. We never quite get it right. We never learn. We always mess up. We’re losers. Be assured, this is not how God regards us; His Spirit would never whisper such accusations in our ears. That’s the work of the devil and his minions.

The problem is we can’t help but listen, because we know ourselves. We are sinners! We are just exactly what the devil says we are! We have a hard time hearing the voice of our Father, calling us “child” or “son” or “daughter” or even “saint” when a tinnitus-like drone of “loser” is constantly coursing through our brains.

Prayer is a refuge from this. The devil cannot penetrate this high tower. In prayer God envelops us, lifts us, brings us before His own face, shelters us from the evil of the world, and explains to us once again, as He listens to our cries and pleas, that we are loved and safe and eternally secure in Him.

He will hear our confessions, but without condemnation. He will listen to our tears and murmuring, but only so as to renew us in His grace and presence. In prayer we find a place of safety, elevating us above things merely mundane and shielding us from the powers of the air. In prayer we can actually be the sinners we are.

And be loved and renewed for our next sortie into everyday life.

So, sinner, make good use of this high tower of prayer.

T. M.’s books on prayer include God’s Prayer Program, a guide to learning how to pray the psalms; The Psalms for Prayer, in which all the psalms are set up to guide you in how to pray them; and If Men Will Pray, a serious attempt to call men of faith to greater diligence in prayer. Follow the links provided here to purchase these from our online store.