The Merton Prayer
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following your will
Does not mean that I am actually doing so.
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following your will
Does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
Does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
Does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
Though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Amen
~Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
Author: Rebekah Durham
Rebekah Durham lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her three children. She is a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary and has written for numerous publications. She is an avid reader and in particular an admirer of C.S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, G.K. Chesterton, Henri Nouwen, and Dorothy L. Sayers (in no certain order). She'd also blindly follow Miss Marple (Agatha Christie's famous spinster sleuth) anywhere she wanted to go. View all posts by Rebekah Durham
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What a beautiful poem! I don’t know anything about Thomas Merton, though I’ve heard the name. I need to check out more of his books. I’ve been getting into reading a lot of Catholic monks’ books, apparently. I’m currently reading Confessions by St. Augustine and loving it! Thank you for sharing this poem!
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I love Merton, though his writings aren’t always easy to take in. The Seven Story Mountain is the story of his conversion and is definitely worth reading. I’d also recommend checking out Henri Nouwen. His writings are make for great devotional reading.
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I haven’t heard of Henri Nouwen…I’ll have to check him out as well. Thank you for the recommendations!
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