prayer, friday

Friday, June 27

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

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of you.  You only know what I need.  You know me better than I know myself.  O Father, give to your child what he himself knows not how to ask.  Teach me to pray.  Pray yourself in me.

                                                                 ~Archbishop Francois Fenelon

Scripture Reading for the Day: Colossians 1:3-14

Reading for Reflection:

Why should I spend an hour in prayer when I do nothing during that time but think of people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read and books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment? 

     The answer is:  because God is greater than my mind and my heart, and what is really happening in the house of prayer is not measurable in terms of human success and failure.

     What I must do first of all is be faithful.  If I believe that the first commandment is to love God with my whole heart, mind, and soul, then I should at least be able to spend one hour a day with nobody else but God.  The question as to whether it is helpful, useful, practical, or fruitful is completely irrelevant, since the only reason to love is love itself.  Everything else is secondary.

     The remarkable thing, however, is that sitting in the presence of God for one hour each morning—day after day, week after week, month after month—in total confusion and with myriad distractions radically changes my life.  God, who loves me so much that He sent His only Son not to condemn me but to save me, does not leave me waiting in the dark too long.  I might think that each hour is useless, but after thirty, sixty, or ninety such useless hours, I gradually realize that I was not as alone as I thought; a very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place.  So:  Be confident and trust in the Lord! (The Road to Daybreak by Henri J.M. Nouwen)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

             

Closing Prayer: Holy God, Beloved Trinity, let me always be rooted in you so that I may live in you and you in me.  Bless me so that your grace may flow through me, allowing me to bear your fruit to a hungry and helpless world.  As I wander, prune me of all that inhibits your growth in me.  Let me do nothing apart from you so that your joy may be complete in me.  In Christ’s name I pray. Amen. (Vineyard Guild Prayer)