Philippians 4:4-8 — Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

A Facebook post from a good friend today reminded me of Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love”. This wonderful little book by a 14th century English mystic is full of gems. This week, I have been thinking of prayer, on and off. There are days when I feel I’m still at the “Christmas list” stage of praying … You know, “Father can I have this, and will You do that, and oooh yes, don’t forget I need, and, and, …” It often feels immature,  but I was comforted today by the beloved text in Philippians 4, and by this quote from Julian:
“… so our customary practice of prayer was brought to mind: how through our ignorance and inexperience in the ways of love we spend so much time on petition. I saw that it is indeed more worthy of God and more truly pleasing to him that through his goodness we should pray with full confidence, and by his grace cling to him with real understanding and unshakeable love, than that we should go on making as many petitions as our souls are capable of.” ? Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
God is a loving parent: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32. He delights in giving us what we need … but we need to ask: “ye have not because ye ask not“. James 4:2.

There is no doubt that asking is a proper part of prayer. It’s not all though. In fact there’s a memory aid that I learned, and return to when I feel my prayer life is out of balance. It comes in two forms — I learned “C.A.S.T” but I’ve seen it as “A.C.T.S” as well. Either way, the letters stand for the same four elements of prayer:

— “C” stands for confession … We are always in need of repentance and forgiveness. Confession is the essential gateway.

— “A” stands for adoration … The loving worship of God is one of the joyful aspects of prayer. 

— “S” stands for supplication … It’s the “asking” piece. Leaving it out of prayer would be to fail to give God due credit for his generosity.

— “T” stands for thanksgiving … It closes the circle. We ask, God gives, we give thanks.

Four aspects of prayer, that together bring balance. Depending on what’s happening in your life, one aspect may be more prominent than another but we need all four. So go ahead, just ask!