Well, truly not prayer for a burglar’s success from this movie of 1964! In 1991 I attended at retreat at the Convent of the Transfiguration. What follows is my journal entry.

 
Sister Margaret taught, “There aren’t any conditions of prayer. There are some things we can do to become more receptive to God. We can wait and desire God in hopeful expectation.” She taught about God’s Presence as a jewel, prayer as a treasured jewel.
 Then we had a time of meditation and prayer – meditative prayer. Winfield Blevins says, “In personal prayer we speak to God, but in meditative prayer we allow God to speak to us through His word and His Spirit.” {I would add that God speaks to us, too, through images we can relate to.}
 So during that retreat of November 1991 I envisioned and wrote: 
 “I see the treasure, as jewels in a case, the multi-faceted beauty of God’s love and wisdom.
 As in Topkapi, the lid is lifted 
 and I enter the treasures of His Glory 
 as a frog enters a pond.
 I go to what others believe is the bottom 
 and as I still my soul, 
 the treasure box opens 
 and I drop 
 as a stone 
 through the beauteous treasure of His wisdom and glory, 
 into the depth of His love.
 I may stop for a while
 but it is as if I am merely perched 
 on a ledge 
 for I have yet to comprehend 
 the depth or length or height 
 of His love. 
 I wait on that ledge,
 rooted and grounded in love 
 absorbing massive quantities of nourishment 
 silently.”
   

I rejoice over Your promise like one who finds vast treasure.

Psalm 119:162 HCSB

-you are being rooted and grounded in love.  I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17b-19 NRSV

Almost thirty years have gone past since I wrote that. I have learned so much about my God and prayer, yet I still have so very much to learn!

“The sword used by Roman soldiers was a short sword known as a gladius; and in the hands of a skilled man, it was a fearsome weapon. In fact, it became known as the sword that conquered the world. It was sharpened on both sides, making it lethal against an unarmored foe. The point was also sharpened, enabling it to pierce armor.

“Usually around 20 to 30 inches long, the gladius was not the medieval-style long sword usually associated with the armor of God.

“This Roman sword was light (around 2 pounds), short and designed to be wielded easily with one hand while the other hand grasped the shield. Its size meant it could be drawn in close quarters, and its sharpened edges made it a threat to any enemy who got too close.” -from lifehopeandtruth.com

Perhaps that vision of the dagger in Topkapi was not too far off! I saw the movie and twenty-seven years later one scene came in my meditative prayer time. I have never forgotten that experience. Now almost thirty years later I am typing this for you. And we marvel at the eternity of God!