Simple Prayer & Groaning Prayer = Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah?

We today yearn for prayer and hide from prayer.  

We are attracted to it and repelled by it. -Richard J. Foster.

I have been reading off and on Richard J. Foster's book Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. In the beginning chapter by talking about the intro prayer that said from the Christian and non-Christian alike (but they may not even know they are doing it) it is called by Foster as Simple Prayer.  In Simple Prayer it is a beginning prayer, but prayer that tends to be self-focused and other times outright selfish.  It has no guidelines from scripture (Jesus, instructing his disciples to pray like this for example).  It is being real with God on who we are and where we are right now.   As Christians we should progress from Simple Prayer, but we will never escape it completely if we are to come to God as we are and what we are many times is not pretty.  Scripture is littered with them like Psalm 137:9. 

The other prayer I was thinking of is the prayer that doesn't even escape our lips. This groaning prayer.  It is a deep, emotional state (usually grief and pain) that is deep in our mind, soul and feeling that can't be put into words.  It is this loss for words but wanting to say so much that is a groan (either internal or expressive) in this the Holy Spirit interprets it and intercedes for us by expressing the deep feelings that can't be put into words.  (Romans 8:26, Acts 7:34).

Simple prayer and the groaning prayer, is mainly a Christian thing but not exclusively.  God, through the Holy Spirit, works on and through the hearts of the non-Christian as well.  They wrestle with God and with the concept of God just as Christians but tend to push Him away to different degrees. Nevertheless, they intrigued by Him and simultaneously run from Him if they fear that the concept of God would mean in their lives.  Thus, it is interesting that the song from Jewish, Buddhist who was intrgeed by Christ, Leonard Cohen's song, Halleluljah has impacted so many people.  Christian and non-Christian alike.  It is like Cohen has tapped into the simple prayer and groaning deep troubling, pain, and hurt prayer that can't be put into words and gave it poetic words set to music. 



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