Thanks to Krista, we have a first edition copy of the book The Prayers of Kierkegaard, from which comes this prayer for humility. May it resonate…
God in Heaven, Let me really feel my nothingness, not in order to despair over it, but in order to feel the more powerfully the greatness of Thy goodness.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Luke 14:11
Jason Barmer
18/09/2007 at 1:39 pm Permalink
i “wrestle” with the will-full, self-abasement aspect of humility. i mean. i’m all for it – don’t get me wrong. well, it’s only that where i cross that line from the flippantly self-aggrandizing to the dutifully doleful (and sour-fully so) is just not that huge of a leap for me. both seem to have their root in the soot of humanity, while humility tends to be more… well, heavenly. so, i wonder if, in effect, humility is actually a bit more like capitulating towards what i am meant to be, rather than aspiring towards what i am not? what are your thoughts?
10/12/2007 at 10:21 pm Permalink
Hey Jas,
Don’t know if you know that The Prayers of Kierkegaard have been put to classical chorale by Samuel Barber. It is very beautiful.