Dear God: 

I pray today to be released from that terrible place within me that so desperately needs to grasp You with my mind so that I can be right and wield my right over others who I think are wrong. 

Please bless me with sensing You in my heart, while providing also a peaceful space where the understanding that the other’s relationship with You is their own, no matter how wrong I might think they are. 

For it has certainly been true for me that the more others have insisted I have been wrong, the tighter I have grasped at what I thought was right. I thank You for prying my fingers back from the fear that held me prisoner for so long. I thank You for offering me the gentle guidance of those who provided—and still do provide—a welcoming space where my heart’s perception of relationship with You is my own. 

It has only ever been in the presence of those gentle guides that I have truly heard Your voice, and been able to see the light of Your way to a deeper understanding of relationship with You. 

Amen.

*With thanks to the writings of Thomas Merton.