seek, saturday

Saturday, May 31

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 24:1-10

Reading for Reflection:

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.  Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive.  It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                          

Closing Prayer: Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me.  I leave myself with you.  Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you.  Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)

seek, friday

Friday, May 30

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Isaiah 55:6-13

Reading for Reflection:

Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions.  He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone.  You would think it rude to leave a friend alone, who came to visit you: why then must God be neglected?  Do not then forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a Christian.  In a word, this is our profession; if we do not know it, we must learn it. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

 

We must know before we can love.  In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                          
Closing Prayer: Eternal God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life: grant us to walk in his way, to rejoice in his truth, and to share his risen life, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. (A Collect for Eastertide, Oremus)

seek, thursday

Thursday, May 29

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 63:1-8

Reading for Reflection:

What does it look like to seek God earnestly?  The dictionary tells us that the definition of the word earnestly is "serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous."  Wow, that's a pretty weighty definition; particularly when we are applying it to our seeking of God.  When I seek God do I have serious intention, or is it just casual, haphazard, and random?  Am I serious in purpose, or am I aimless and adrift?  Am I serious in effort, or am I lackadaisical, tepid, and lazy?  My guess is that if I indeed want to find Him in my seeking, it will depend a good bit on the earnestness of my seeking.  At least that's what Jeremiah would tell us: "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
     The Hebrew word for earnestly is shachar which means to seek diligently, or early.  This word gives the definite impression that the thing that is being sought in this manner is the first thing, the most important thing, or, as Jesus said, the one thing.  When we seek something in this way, all other things take a back seat.
     So, back to the original question: What does it look like to seek God earnestly?  Or, more specifically, what does it look like for me to seek God earnestly?  And if I am not seeking him earnestly right now, what is the word I would use for how I am seeking him?  And is that enough?  Enough for me?  Enough for him?  What am I seeking earnestly (if not God)?  And what does that tell me? 
     I think this whole Psalm (63), and this whole earnestly thing hinges on what David says in verse 3: "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."  Do we really believe that?  Do we really believe that God's love is the best thing?  Until we truly believe that, we simply will not seek him earnestly.  In fact, we will earnestly seek whatever that thing is that we think is better than life.  Jesus said it so well when he said, "For where your treasure is, your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)
     So that leaves us to ask ourselves: What will it take for us to make the leap from seeking him casually, or comfortably, or even regularly, to seeking him earnestly?  And are we willing to make that leap.  If we aren't, then Lord help us.

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                         

Closing Prayer: O my God, teach me to seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, or find you unless you show yourself to me.  Let me seek you in my desire, and desire you in my seeking.  Let me find you by loving you, let me love you when I find you. 

 

                                                            ~St. Anselm of Canterbury

seek, wednesday

Wednesday, May 28

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Psalm 27:4-14

Reading for Reflection:

When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself.  The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation.  In the and lies our great woe.  If we omit the and we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing. (The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                          
Closing Prayer: O Jesus, our redemption, love, and desire, may your love constrain you to pass over our evils, sparing us, and having answered our prayer, may you satisfy us with your face.  Amen. (The Little Book of Hours)

seek, tuesday

Tuesday, May 27

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: 2 Chronicles 7:12-22

Reading for Reflection:

We tend to use God instead of seek Him.  We want God to do our bidding more than we want Him. (When the Pieces Don’t Fit by Glaphre Gilliland)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                          

Closing Prayer: Father of all humanity, you call your children to walk in the light of Christ.  Free us from darkness and keep us forever in the radiance of your truth, until we come at last to live with you on high.  We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen. (The Little Book of Hours)

seek, monday

Monday, May 26

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Matthew 7:7-12

Reading for Reflection:

There are no two ways about it.  You’ve got your eyes open or you don’t.  You’re watching at midnight or you’re not.  You better be ready when it comes flying at you, skimming swiftly over the surface of time.

     The cares of this world are no excuse.  Not father, mother, wife, nor children.  No burials or births or weddings.  Not fixing formula, scrubbing toilets, peddling pills or prose.  Whatever the great human enterprise currently in hand, the point is to watch.  All the rest is addenda.  Seeking the kingdom is the essential integer. (And the Trees Clap Their Hands by Virginia Stem Owens)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                        

Closing Prayer: O my God, teach me to seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, or find you unless you show yourself to me.  Let me seek you in my desire, and desire you in my seeking.  Let me find you by loving you, let me love you when I find you. 

 

                                                                   ~St. Anselm of Canterbury

seek, sunday

Sunday, May 25 (Sixth Sunday of Easter)

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Father, You alone know what lies before me this day.  Grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you.  Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand.  For my Lord Christ’s Sake.  Amen, (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Matthew 6:25-34

Reading for Reflection:

Let us not amuse ourselves to seek or to love God for the sensible favors (how elevated soever) which He has or may do us.  Such favors, though never so great, cannot bring us so near to God as faith does in one simple act.  Let us seek Him often by faith; He is within us; seek Him not elsewhere.  Are not we rude and deserve blame, if we leave Him alone, or busy ourselves about trifles which do not please Him and perhaps offend Him?  It is to be feared these trifles will one day cost us dear. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                           
Closing Prayer: Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you do take me.  I leave myself with you.  Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you.  Amen. (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)

devotion, saturday

Saturday, May 24

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.                                                                                              

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day: 1 Chronicles 22:17-19

Reading for Reflection:

The Christian way is different: harder and easier.  Christ says, “Give me All.  I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.  I have not come to torment your natural [false] self, but to kill it.  No half-measures are any good.  I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down….Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit.  I will give you a new self instead.  In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours. (Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                         

Closing Prayer: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

devotion, friday

Friday, May 23

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.                                                                                             

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day: 1 Timothy 4:1-16

Reading for Reflection:

It is unlikely that we will deepen our relationship with God in a casual or haphazard manner.  There will be a need for some intentional commitment and some reorganization in our own lives.  But there is nothing that will enrich our lives more than a deeper and clearer perception of God’s presence in the routine of daily living. (Ways of Prayer: Designing a Personal Rule by William O. Paulsell, Weavings, Sept./Oct. 1987)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                           
Closing Prayer: O God, my Father, help me always to fix my hope firmly on you, the Living God.  Help me to live a life that is totally immersed in you, and in the things and the practices that will train me to be more and more like you.  For your Kingdom and for your glory.  Amen.

devotion, thursday

Thursday, May 22

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.                                                                                            

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day:  Matthew 25:1-13

Reading for Reflection:

     Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually.  First go—at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you. (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                          

Closing Prayer: O God of light and life, show me your world as it really is, so that I may live each day confidently knowing that each and every moment has eternal significance because your love pervades all things.  Amen.

devotion, wednesday

Wednesday, May 21

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.                                                                                               

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day: Revelation 3:14-22

Reading for Reflection:            

O Begin!  Fix some part of every day for private exercises.  You may acquire the taste which you have not: what is tedious at first will afterward be pleasant.  Whether you like it or not, read and pray daily.  It is for your life; there is no other way: else you will be a trifler all your days.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ~John Wesley

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                           

Closing Prayer: Lord God, place a fire deep down in my soul, a fire that constantly makes me yearn for more and more of you.  Help me to never settle for any less than that.  Help me never to settle for a boring, mundane, half-hearted, lukewarm spiritual existence.  Thank you that you are a God who constantly knocks.  Give me the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to consistently open the door.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

devotion, tuesday

Tuesday, May 20

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.                                                                                            

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day: Jeremiah 17:5-14

Reading for Reflection:

    Practice comes first in religion, not theory or dogma.  And Christian practice is not exhausted in outward deeds.  These are the fruits, not the roots.  A practicing Christian must above all be one who practices the perpetual return of the soul into the inner sanctuary, who brings the world into its Light and rejudges it, who brings the Light into the world with all its turmoil and its fitfulness and recreates it. (A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                           
Closing Prayer: Holy and Infinite God, full of mystery and the source of all life and love, let me walk with you this day in all that I do.  Give me the grace and the strength to move toward you in any and every way possible; both in faith and in practice.  And, at the end of this day, may I love you more intimately, know you more deeply, and follow you more closely than I did at its beginning.  In the name of your Son Jesus.  Amen.

devotion, monday

Monday, May 19

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.
 

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.                                                                                       

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day: 2 Peter 1:3-11

Reading for Reflection:

     Oh be generous in your self-surrender!  Meet His measureless devotion to you, with a measureless devotion to Him.  Be glad and eager to throw yourself headlong into His dear arms, and to hand over the reins of government to Him.  Whatever there is of you, let Him have it all.  Give up forever everything that is separate from Him.  (The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                           

Closing Prayer: I ask you, Lord Jesus, to develop in me, your lover, an immeasurable urge towards you, an affection that is unbounded, longing that is unrestrained, fervor that throws discretion to the winds!  The more worthwhile our love for you, all the more pressing does it become.  Reason cannot hold it in check, fear does not make it tremble, wise judgment does not temper it. (The Fire of Love by Richard Rolle)

devotion, sunday

Sunday, May 18 (Fifth Sunday of Easter)

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Late have I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!  And behold, you were within me and I was outside, and there I sought for you, and in my deformity I rushed headlong into the well-formed things that you have made.  You were with me, and I was not with you.

                                                                                             

                                                                                                ~St. Augustine

Scripture Reading for the Day: Colossians 2:1-7

Reading for Reflection:

Philosopher William James said: "In some people religion exists as a dull habit, in others as an acute fever."  Jesus did not endure the shame of the cross to hand on a dull habit.  If you don't have the fever, dear reader, a passion for God and His Christ, drop to your knees, and beg for it; turn to the God you half-believe in and cry out for His baptism of fire. (The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                         
Closing Prayer: My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.  Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem lost and in the shadow of death.  I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. (Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton)

becoming, saturday

Saturday, May 17

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: God of our creation and re-creation, you who are constantly at work to shape me in the wholeness of Christ, you know the hardness of the structures of my being that resist your shaping touch.  You know the deep inner rigidities of my being that reject your changing grace.  By your grace soften my hardness and rigidity; help me to become pliable in your hands.  Even as I pray this, may there be a melting of my innate resistance to your transforming love.  Amen. (Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Ephesians 4:17-5:2

Reading for Reflection:

     Love changes us in ways that the law cannot.  Spiritual formation, a term used to describe the process of being changed into the image of Christ, doesn’t happen by following disciplines.  It happens by falling in love.  When we fall in love with Jesus, all the other loves in our life fall into place.  And those that once competed with Christ now subordinate themselves to him.  Everything in our life finds its proper value once we have properly valued him. (The Divine Embrace by Ken Gire)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                          

Closing Prayer:   We give You thanks, Almighty God: for all Your gifts so freely bestowed upon us and all whom You have made.  We bless You for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of life; above all, for the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the hope of glory and for the means of grace.  We thank You, O Lord. Grant us such an awareness of Your mercies, we pray, that with truly thankful hearts, we may give You praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving ourselves to Your service,
and by walking before You in holiness and righteousness all our days. (Venite by Robert Benson)

becoming, friday

Friday, May 16

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: God of our creation and re-creation, you who are constantly at work to shape me in the wholeness of Christ, you know the hardness of the structures of my being that resist your shaping touch.  You know the deep inner rigidities of my being that reject your changing grace.  By your grace soften my hardness and rigidity; help me to become pliable in your hands.  Even as I pray this, may there be a melting of my innate resistance to your transforming love.  Amen. (Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Matthew 5:1-16

Reading for Reflection:

     The journey between the dreaming and the coming true is a journey made on holy ground.  It is a journey made through silence and longing where, if we will listen, we can hear the whisper of the Dreamer echoing deep within us, calling us to become what the Dreamer sees when our names were first whispered: saints who believe in and pay attention for and recognize the Voice; saints who live our lives in joy and confidence and hope rather than judgment and anxiety and desperation; saints whose hours and days and lives are spent carrying people to the Christ, lending each other a hand when one has fallen, slipping along the river that brings joy to the heart of God, carrying God’s peace and love and presence and life to those we meet along the way.

     That is what we have been sent here to do.  And we will.  The Dreamer’s dream will always come true. (Between the Dreaming and the Coming True by Robert Benson)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

                                           
Closing Prayer: Father, the image you long to form me into is so radically different from that of the world around me.  And, to be brutally honest, radically different from the things I tend to pursue on a daily basis.  Give me your heart, and pour out your Spirit, that I might value the things you value, love the things that you love, and pursue the things—and the people—that you long for me to pursue.  For the sake of your Son Jesus. Amen.