What is your experience when you enter into your interior sanctuary to seek the Father, Abba, in prayer? I know that too often in my own interior Dwelling Place there is a whole marketplace of activity going on constantly. I enter into this sanctuary space hoping for some peaceful time of prayer and communion with the Father but too often I am met with distractions and a thousand different projects that vie for my attention. There is so much noise that I can’t begin to hear the voice of God speaking to me in his small whisper. Even worldly allurements try to capture my attention. The distractions in prayer can become quite frustrating. As I enter into the interior temple of my heart I also notice at times that my mindset is one of commerce. I need something from the Father and so I set about negotiating with him over my desires. I often haggle over the price of something because I fear that it is too costly for me and that I cannot pay the price that God is asking. I am frustrated to find that my interior temple, the Father’s house, my place of prayer, has become a marketplace. My temple needs a cleansing! “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” (Jn 2,16)
Lent is a time for spring cleaning in the interior temple of our Dwelling Place. We need to drive out the beasts and the vendors of God’s grace and reclaim our house of prayer. St. John Chrysostom writes about prayer: “Prayer is the light of the spirit, true knowledge of God, mediating between God and man. The spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness; like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. It seeks the satisfaction of its own desires, and receives gifts outweighing the whole of nature. Prayer stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by God’s grace…Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace, and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit.”
Do a little “home improvement” for our Lord in the sanctuary of your heart this Lent. Get rid of whatever is causing that stench and throw open the windows of your heart to the fresh breath of the Spirit. See a spiritual director if you need some professional advice on interior decorating. Toss out the squatters that you have tolerated for too long. Make your heart a suitable Dwelling Place for the Father.