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All Shall Be Well: A Journey Through Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love with Kris McGregor
Episode 12: The Fourteenth Shewing — Prayer, Trust, and Union with God
Summary:
In this episode, Julian of Norwich reveals the mystery of prayer as the soul’s union with God. She shows that Christ Himself is the ground of every prayer, the One who awakens the desire to pray, gives the words we offer, and delights to receive them. Prayer is not about changing God, who is always love, but about allowing ourselves to be changed, drawn more deeply into His mercy and will. Julian teaches that even when prayer feels dry or unanswered, it remains precious to God, for it rests in His eternal goodness. Whether in need or in gratitude, prayer unites us to Christ and becomes a share in His eternal joy
For other episodes in this series visit: All Shall Be Well: A Journey Through Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love with Kris McGregor
Full Julian of Norwich Quotations Used in Episode 11:
From Revelations of Divine Love, Long Text, Chapters 41-43, trans. Grace Warrack, Methuen & Co., 1901 (PDF edition).
God the Ground of Our Prayer
“AFTER this our Lord shewed concerning Prayer. In which Shewing I see two conditions in our Lord’s signifying: one is rightfulness, another is sure trust. But yet oftentimes our trust is not full: for we are not sure that God heareth us, as we think because of our unworthiness, and because we feel right nought, (for we are as barren and dry oftentimes after our prayers as we were afore); and this, in our feeling our folly, is cause of our weakness. For thus have I felt in myself.
And all this brought our Lord suddenly to my mind, and shewed these words, and said: I am Ground of thy beseeching: first it is my will that thou have it; and after, I make thee to will it; and after, I make thee to beseech it and thou beseechest it. How should it then be that thou shouldst not have thy beseeching?”
(Ch. 41)“Full glad and merry is our Lord of our prayer; and He looketh thereafter and He willeth to have it because with His grace He maketh us like to Himself in condition as we are in kind: and so is His blissful will. Therefore He saith thus: Pray inwardly, though thee thinketh it savour thee not: for it is profitable, though thou feel not, though thou see nought; yea, though thou think thou canst not. For in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in feebleness, then is thy prayer well-pleasant to me, though thee thinketh it savour thee nought but little. And so is all thy believing prayer in my sight. For the meed and the endless thanks that He will give us, therefor He is covetous to have us pray continually in His sight.” (Ch. 41)
“And also to prayer belongeth thanking. Thanking is a true inward knowing, with great reverence and lovely dread turning ourselves with all our mights unto the working that our good Lord stirreth us to, enjoying and thanking inwardly. And sometimes, for plenteousness it breaketh out with voice, and saith: Good Lord, I thank Thee! Blessed mayst Thou be! And sometime when the heart is dry and feeleth not, or else by temptation of our enemy,—then it is driven by reason and by grace to cry upon our Lord with voice, rehearing His blessed Passion and His great Goodness; and the virtue of our Lord’s word turneth into the soul and quickeneth the heart and entereth it by His grace into true working, and maketh it pray right blissfully. And truly to enjoy our Lord, it is a full blissful thanking in His sight.” (Ch. 41)
The True Understanding of Prayer
“OUR Lord God willeth that we have true understanding, and specially in three things that belong to our prayer. The first is: by whom and how that our prayer springeth. By whom, He sheweth when He saith: I am [the] Ground; and how, by His Goodness: for He saith first: It is my will. The second is: in what manner and how we should use our prayer; and that is that our will be turned unto the will of our Lord, enjoying: and so meaneth He when He saith: I make thee to will it. The third is that we should know the fruit and the end of our prayers: that is, that we be oned and like to our Lord in all things; and to this intent and for this end was all this lovely lesson shewed. And He will help us, and we shall make it so as He saith Himself;—Blessed may He be!” (Ch. 41)
“For prayer is a right understanding of that fulness of joy that is to come, with welllonging and sure trust. Failing of our bliss that we be kindly ordained to, maketh us to long; true understanding and love, with sweet mind in our Saviour, graciously maketh us to trust. And in these two workings our Lord beholdeth us continually: for it is our due part, and His Goodness may no less assign to us. Thus it belongeth to us to do our diligence; and when we have done it, then shall us yet think that [it] is nought,—and sooth it is. But if we do as we can, and ask, in truth, for mercy and grace, all that faileth us we shall find in Him. And thus signifieth He where He saith: I am Ground of thy beseeching. And thus in this blessed word, with the Shewing, I saw a full overcoming against all our weakness and all our doubtful dreads.”(Ch. 42)
Prayer Unites the Soul to God
“PRAYER oneth the soul to God. For though the soul be ever like to God in kind and substance, restored by grace, it is often unlike in condition, by sin on man’s part. Then is prayer a witness that the soul willeth as God willeth; and it comforteth the conscience and enableth man to grace. And thus He teacheth us to pray, and mightily to trust that we shall have it. For He beholdeth us in love and would make us partners of His good deed, and therefore He stirreth us to pray for that which it pleaseth him to do. For which prayer and good will, that we have of His gift, He will reward us and give us endless meed.” (Ch. 43)
“For when the soul is tempested, troubled, and left to itself by unrest, then it is time to pray, for to make itself pliable and obedient to God. (But the soul by no manner of prayer maketh God pliant to it: for He is ever alike in love.) And this I saw: that what time we see needs wherefor we pray, then our good Lord followeth us, helping our desire; and when we of His special grace plainly behold Him, seeing none other needs, then we follow Him and He draweth us unto Him by love. For I saw and felt that His marvellous and plentiful Goodness fulfilleth all our powers; and therewith I saw that His continuant working in all manner of things is done so goodly, so wisely, and so mightily, that it overpasseth all our imagining, and all that we can ween and think; and then we can do no more but behold Him, enjoying, with an high, mighty desire to be all oned unto Him,—centred to His dwelling,—and enjoy in His loving and delight in His goodness.” (Ch. 43)
Scripture Featured
(Translations used: Revised Standard Version [RSV-CE] )
- (Romans 8:26)
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”
- (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)
“Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
- (Romans 12:12)
“Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
- (Psalm 46:10)
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
“Prayer is a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. It is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 258)
“Every joy and suffering, every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving which, sharing in that of Christ, should fill one’s whole life: ‘Give thanks in all circumstances.’” (CCC 2648)
“Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God. But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or ‘out of the depths’ of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted. Humility is the foundation of prayer.” (CCC 2559)
“The Holy Spirit, the artisan of God’s works, teaches us to pray in hope. Conversely, prayer nourishes hope.”(CCC 2657)
“Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all.” (CCC 2697)
“Contemplative prayer is silence, the ‘symbol of the world to come’ or ‘silent love.’ Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the ‘outer’ man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus.”(CCC 2717).
Reflection Questions for Prayer
-
- Julian teaches that Christ is the Ground of our prayer, the One who begins every petition. How does this change the way you see your own prayer — especially in times of dryness or discouragement?
- She reminds us that God is “full glad and merry” in our prayer, even when it feels barren. Where in your life do you need to trust that your hidden, ordinary prayers are truly pleasing to Him?
- Julian links prayer with thanksgiving, even in trials. How can you let gratitude shape your daily prayer, so that even weakness and suffering become occasions for praise?
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
You who revealed to Julian that You are the Ground of our prayer,
stir within us the desire to seek You always.
When our hearts are dry or distracted,
remind us that You delight in our prayer.
When we feel weak, teach us to trust in Your strength.
Draw us into thanksgiving,
that every sigh and every song may rise to You in praise.
Unite us to Yourself in love,
until our prayer is fulfilled in the joy of seeing You face to face,
where all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
Amen.
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