Day 5 - March 13, 2019
Day 5 - March 13
Expressing Emotions
Expressing Emotions
The fourth level of intimacy—and of
prayer—is to express our emotions.
We are not talking here about the emotions we can’t hide, as when we blow up at someone and show impatience or anger. We are talking about the act of choosing to reveal to another—or others—not just what we think but what we feel.
To do this—to relinquish control and express physically and visibly what we are feeling—is to enter into another level of intimacy with others. It is to lower our guard, let down some barriers; it is, to some extent, to become “naked” to those we are with.
To communicate with God about emotional issues requires emotional self-expression. If you do not express any emotional response to God, you will not experience any. You will have a very “formal” and “proper” relationship with God as Creator and Lord, but you won’t experience passionate love, or ever sense that you care about him.
If you do nothing else, get in touch with your feelings as you pray.
We are not talking here about the emotions we can’t hide, as when we blow up at someone and show impatience or anger. We are talking about the act of choosing to reveal to another—or others—not just what we think but what we feel.
To do this—to relinquish control and express physically and visibly what we are feeling—is to enter into another level of intimacy with others. It is to lower our guard, let down some barriers; it is, to some extent, to become “naked” to those we are with.
To communicate with God about emotional issues requires emotional self-expression. If you do not express any emotional response to God, you will not experience any. You will have a very “formal” and “proper” relationship with God as Creator and Lord, but you won’t experience passionate love, or ever sense that you care about him.
If you do nothing else, get in touch with your feelings as you pray.
Stop
now and think. Does this make sense to
me?
How can I respond to what Fr. Knight is saying?
How can I respond to what Fr. Knight is saying?
Thirty Days Toward a Vibrant Spirituality is adapted
from Nuts and Bolts of Daily
Spirituality--Practical Steps to Draw Closer to God by David M. Knight.
Copyright ©2013 David M. Knight. Published by Twenty-Third Publications. Used with Permission.
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