This is the time of the year when many Anglican Churches use The Litany to start the service and omit the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church. Interestingly enough, The Litany was the first part of the church service to be translated into English; that may be a lesson in and of itself.
The word Litany means: A solemn form of supplication in the public worship of various churches, in which the clergy and congregation joins, the former leading and the latter responding in alternate sentences. It is usually of a penitential character.
Interestingly enough in colloquial English it means an endless list, usually of complaints.
In The Litany, over and over, the congregation asks God and/or Christ to “hear us”:
· We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
· Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us.
Over and Over
Perhaps we are asking our Lord God the wrong thing. For, He, who needs no reminding of the death of a sparrow, seems likely to hear us the first time. The more important thing to ask Him is for help in not only hearing Him, but actually listening to Him and following His instructions. We miss the point when we beg Him to hear us. We need to ask His help to HEAR HIM and ACT ON HIS WORD.
As my lovely wife says, “Please fill us with the Holy Ghost, even if (and probably particularly if) You have to pry open our mouths and force Him down our throats!”
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