Asking for Help

One of the spiritual problems we face in our relationship with God comes in times of trouble. If we are assailed by difficulty, it is easy to call on God, since we feel we need help against undeserved trouble. But it is more difficult when we get into trouble of our own creation. We can be keenly aware of our fault, even having broken some moral rules or expectations. A sense of shame can kick in, which makes us reticent to seek out God’s help. We may feel we are beyond forgiving, or we feel we have no right to ask for problems we have caused. Back in the 1380s, the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing described this kind of situation:

"Suppose someone is your deadly enemy, and you hear him so terrified that he shouts out in the height of his spirit a little word FIRE! Or the word OUT! Without regard to the fact that he is your enemy, but for sure pity in your heart, stirred and aroused by the misery of the shout, you get up – yes, even if it were about midwinters night – and help him to put out his fire, or to calm and ease him in his distress. Oh Lord, since a human being can by grace be made so merciful as to have so much mercy and so much pity on his enemy, regardless of his enmity, what pity and what mercy will God have of the spiritual shout of a soul, made and shaped in the height and the depth, the length and the breath of his spirit – God, who has by nature all that human beings have by grace, and far more? Surely he will have far more mercy beyond comparison."

This monk is arguing that even when we feel like we have become God’s enemy through our thoughts or actions, if we cry out in our pain, of course God will show us as much mercy and more than any human neighbour would. We were given our capacity for mercy towards enemies by God - of course God will have more. Note that the author does not suggest we need to say any special or elaborate prayers. Instead, he recommends something as short as FIRE!, such as HELP! Or SAVE ME! God already knows what kind of trouble you are in. What matters most is that you open yourself to help, in all honesty, in the midst of your distress. God does not want anyone to flounder, and takes no pleasure in anyone’s despair. As Jesus said, there is more celebrating in heaven over the saving of one sinner than many more believers. Peace.

-Rev. Stephen Milton, Lawrence Park Community Church, Toronto

Source: Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing, Chapter 38

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