From arrows going up... or going down

"So you pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name ; may your kingdom come ; that your will be done, as in heaven, also on the earth. Give us today the bread we need ; give us our debts, as we also give to our debtors ; and do not expose us to temptation, but deliver us from evil." Matthew 6: 9-13

Someone said that each time one speaks to God to offer him some thanksgiving and praise, it is as if one were sending arrows ↑ upwards, to Him, for Him. On the contrary, the arrows going down ↓ ce are those that focus on us : "Lord, come to my help, answer me, give me your help, your support, your advice". It is supplication, which has its place, of course.

The maturity of the faith is the arrows that go up : it is the recognition, the adoration, the praise (which is not limited to singing), the consecration (the offering of my life, as a sacrifice), the testimony. All that attracts attention to God. This implies for us to have the servant disposition.

The prayer that Jesus taught us shows that there is room for both. At the beginning of this prayer, clearly arrows come up : "Your name, your kingdom, your will ..." ; but in the end, it's the opposite : "Give, deliver, deliver".

Let's think about the last two words of Jesus on the cross. The call "My God, why ... ?" Is an arrow coming down. But then, "in your hands I put my mind back" is an arrow that goes up! Similarly, in a hymn, for example, there can be both, and you can not sing all the same.

With this image of the arrows, we can identify two possible drifts. If there are (almost) only arrows going down, we are in an immature faith, centered on the man and his needs. God is there as a servant, a means to our comfort ... If there are only arrows rising, we are perhaps in a kind of mysticism, flight from reality ... There must be both.

By the way, when I praise God, is it for him or for me (Matthew 6: 5) ? And when I pray, how do I start ? How do I finish ? Is there really room for him in my prayers ?

Source (Pleasing the Lord)