The Unwalled Heart

In the practice of centering prayer, there comes a moment every practitioner dreads — the moment when the sacred word dissolves and you are left with nothing. No comfort, no felt presence, no assurance. Just raw, open silence. Thomas Merton called this the point where "our own poverty and His mercy meet." It is precisely here that Joshua 1:9 becomes not a command shouted from outside, but a whisper rising from the indwelling God: "Be strong and courageous.…