Child at Prayer by Eastman Johnson via Wikimedia Commons
Jesus, how sweet is the very thought of you!
You fill my heart with joy.
The sweetness of your love surpasses
the sweetness of honey.
Nothing sweeter than you can be described;
no words can express the joy of your love.
Only those who have tasted your love for themselves
can comprehend it.
In your love you listen to all my prayers,
even when my wishes are childish,
my words confused, and my thoughts foolish.
And you answer my prayers,
not according to my own misdirected desires,
which would bring only bitter misery,
but according to my real needs,
which bring me sweet joy.
Thank you, Jesus, for giving yourself to me.
Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153, French abbot and Cistercian mystic
The HarperCollins Book of Prayers
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Psalm 4:7
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
prayer & verse 
