Desire

Every desire within us that calls to God already constitutes a prayer. Your desire is already your prayer. There is an inward prayer that never stops: your desire. If you want to pray, then never stop desiring.

St. Augustine- Commentary on Psalm 37
(Just HAD to copy it from this friend)

Psalm 37 (NLT)

A psalm of David.

¹ Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
² For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸ Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
⁹ For the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear.
Though you look for them, they will be gone.
¹¹ The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the godly;
they snarl at them in defiance.
¹³ But the Lord just laughs,
for he sees their day of judgment coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
¹⁵ But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and rich.
¹⁷ For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the Lord takes care of the godly.

¹⁸ Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.

²⁰ But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field—
they will disappear like smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and never repay,
but the godly are generous givers.
²² Those the Lord blesses will possess the land,
but those he curses will die.

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
²⁴ Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.

²⁵ Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
²⁶ The godly always give generous loans to others,
and their children are a blessing.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good,
and you will live in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice,
and he will never abandon the godly.

He will keep them safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will die.
²⁹ The godly will possess the land
and will live there forever.

³⁰ The godly offer good counsel;
they teach right from wrong.
³¹ They have made God’s law their own,
so they will never slip from his path.

³² The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,
looking for an excuse to kill them.
³³ But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed
or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

³⁴ Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land.
You will see the wicked destroyed.

³⁵ I have seen wicked and ruthless people
flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
³⁶ But when I looked again, they were gone!
Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

³⁷ Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.
³⁸ But the rebellious will be destroyed;
they have no future.

³⁹ The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them,
rescuing them from the wicked.
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.