Thomas Merton’s Most Famous Prayer – A Good Prayer for Lent

by Christine Sine

The Lenten prayer for this week is written by Trappist monk Thomas Merton. It is from fromThoughts in Solitude (1958).

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

 

NOTE: As an Amazon Assoiciate I receive a small amount from purchases made through the link above. Than you for supporting Godspace in this way.

You may also like

9 comments

» Thomas Merton’s Most Famous Prayer – A Good Prayer for Lent February 27, 2015 - 6:04 am

[…] The Lenten prayer for this week is written by Trappist monk Thomas Merton. My Lord God, I have no idea …read more       […]

Coe Hurchison February 27, 2015 - 10:40 am

Ah, one of my very favorite prayers. Thanks for sending it out.

Christine Sine February 27, 2015 - 10:43 am

Mine too Coe.

Thomas Merton’s Most Well-known Prayer – A Good Prayer for Lent | Posts March 1, 2015 - 1:29 pm

[…] The Lenten prayer for this week is written by Trappist monk Thomas Merton. My Lord God, I do not know the place I’m going. I don’t see the street forward of me. I can’t know for sure the place it is going to finish. Nor do I actually know myself, and the truth that I feel I’m following […] Godspace […]

John Leech March 2, 2015 - 10:45 am

The prayer by Thomas Merton is from Thoughts in Solitude (1958). When I was asked to lead prayers at my ‘discernment’ weekend – for people seeking ordination – I read it: it meant a lot to us then. The chaplain I remember was deeply struck by it. (This year’s Burns Lecture on Religious Studies was built around the anniversary of his birth.)

Christine Sine March 5, 2015 - 10:24 pm

John thanks for giving me a reference for it. I have tried to find it by looking back through his books but that did not work.

Healing Soul Streams February 15, 2016 - 10:00 am

I loved the video and have forwarded your post to one of my Facebook pages – Touch Holiness.
Thank you so much, Christine.

Christine Sine February 21, 2016 - 6:32 am

Glad you enjoyed it this is one I like to revisit frequently

Charles Cingolani June 24, 2017 - 5:44 am

The Merton Prayer – German Translation
http://cingolani.com/MertonPrayer.html

Leave a Comment