Michel Quoist (1921-1997) was born into a working-class Catholic family in France. He went to work at age 14 after his father’s death and later returned to school to become a Catholic priest. His first assignment was working with youth in a section of a city in Northern France populated with factory laborers. He wrote Prayers of Life in 1954 as a young priest of 33. No doubt, his working-class background and real-life experiences contributed to his unconventional devotional style. The subjects of his prayers were the stuff of real life—a man whose wife has just left him, an obnoxious co-worker, a pornographic magazine, a drunk in the street—hardly the standard fare of devotional literature in mid-20th century Catholic strongholds in France. His prayer book quickly became a best-seller and was translated into English nine years later. Michel said that all his written prayers originated from his personal life. One of the most revealing of his autobiographical prayers was the result of coming home as a young priest after a full Sunday of leading worship and being with people. Seeing young couples strolling arm-in-arm and passing children playing in the street tugged at his heart as a celibate priest. He prayed, “Lord, tonight when all is still, and I feel sharply the sting of solitude, I repeat to you my ‘yes’—slowly, clearly, humbly.” His prayer enlarges on this theme of saying “yes” to God:
Michel Quoist
I am afraid of saying, “Yes,” Lord.Where will you take me?
I am afraid of drawing the longer straw,
I am afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement,
I am afraid of the “yes” that entails other “yeses.”
And yet, I am not at peace.
You pursue me, Lord, you besiege me.
I seek out the din for fear of hearing you,
but in a moment of silence, you slip through.
I turn from the road, for I have caught sight of you,
but at the end of the path, you are there awaiting me.
Where shall I hide? I meet you everywhere.
Is it then impossible to escape you?
But I am afraid to say “Yes,” Lord.
I am afraid of putting my hand in yours,
for you hold on to it.
I am afraid of meeting your eyes,
for you can win me.
I am afraid of your demands,
for you are a jealous God.
I am hemmed in, yet I hide.
I am captured, yet I struggle,
and I fight, knowing that I am defeated.
For you are the stronger, Lord;
you own the world and take it from me…
Say “Yes,” son.
I need your “yes” as I needed Mary’s “yes” to come to earth,
For it is I who must do your work,
It is I who must live in your family,
It is I who must be in your neighborhood,
For it is my look that penetrates, and not yours,
My words that carry weight, and not yours.
My life that transforms, and not yours.
Give all to me, abandon all to me…
O Lord, I am afraid of your demands,
but who can resist you?
That your kingdom may come and not mine,
That your will may be done and not mine,
Help me to say “Yes.”
Michel Quoist, Prayers, 1963.
Rev. Dr. Peter James served 42 years as the senior of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA — 21 years in the 20th century and 21 years in the 21st century. He retired in 2021 and now serves as Pastor-in-Residence at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Even as a pastor, prayer came slowly to Pete. Read Pete’s story.