seek, day 3

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)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: 1 Chronicles 28:8-10

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

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


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, day 2

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)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: Matthew 7:7-12

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

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.


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, day 1

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)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 24

Scripture for the Day: Matthew 6:25-34

 

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)

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

Song for the Week: Abide with Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see—
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

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)

balance, day 7

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

Opening Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

     During this day help me quiet all the thoughts that fill my head—where I must go, whom I must see, and what I must do. In their place, give me a sense of your order, your peace, and your time.

     Help me to understand that you are in control, and I can trust you with my day. Help me to realize that nothing on my to-do list is important if it is not what you want me to do.

      I give all my tasks to you and trust you to bring order to them. In these moments, dear Jesus, come to me, be with me, and free me from the tyranny of “to do.” (Quiet Spaces by Patricia F. Wilson)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 127

Scripture for the Day: Hebrews 10:19-26

 

Reading for Reflection:

Only by taking our life apart from time to time and examining it carefully, and then putting it back together thoughtfully and prayerfully, only then can we have some measure of confidence that we are living the life that we were meant to lead.

     “Only he who obeys a rhythm that is superior to his own,” wrote Kazantzakis, “is free.”

     The superior rhythm is the one that was made by God and whispered into us at the time that we were whispered into being.  It is a rhythm that is based on the light and darkness of the day itself.  It is a rhythm that supports all of our lives—prayer, rest, community and work. (A Good Life by Robert Benson)

 

What I am looking for is some sort of balance in my life—a balance “so delicate, so risky, so creative”, as Maria Boulding puts it, that she likens it to a bird in flight, a dancer in motion.  One of the favorite words in the Rule of St. Benedict is “run”, St. Benedict tells me to run to Christ.  If I stop for a moment and consider what is being asked of me here, and what is involved in the act of running, I think of how when I run I place first one foot and then the other on the ground, that I let go of my balance for a second and then immediately recover it again.  It is risky, this matter of running.  By daring to lose my balance I keep it. (Living with Contradiction by Esther de Waal)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Be the Center

Jesus, be the center,
Be my source, be my light, Jesus
Jesus, be the center,
Be my hope, be my song, Jesus

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, be my vision,
Be my path, be my guide, Jesus.

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails

Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus


Closing Prayer
You have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence we shall be strengthened. By Your Spirit lift us to Your Presence where we may be still and know that You are God. (from The Book of Common Prayer adapted in Living Prayer by Robert Benson)

balance, day 6

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

Opening Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

     During this day help me quiet all the thoughts that fill my head—where I must go, whom I must see, and what I must do. In their place, give me a sense of your order, your peace, and your time.

     Help me to understand that you are in control, and I can trust you with my day. Help me to realize that nothing on my to-do list is important if it is not what you want me to do.

     I give all my tasks to you and trust you to bring order to them. In these moments, dear Jesus, come to me, be with me, and free me from the tyranny of “to do.” (Quiet Spaces by Patricia F. Wilson)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 127

Scripture for the Day: Luke 10:38-42

Reading for Reflection:

More recently I’m beginning to understand that, in my life with God, the word discipline means the endeavor to create space in my life in which God can act.  Discipline means being intentional about preventing everything in my life from being filled up.  The diligent watchfulness guards my soul from intrusions that crowd out God.

     Marking off space for God to be at work is a challenge because God likes doing things with me that I hadn’t counted on.  He likes to decide the agenda rather than docilely going along with my carefully scripted list of activities.  If I leave God too little space, the desires God has for me and for our time together simply don’t happen.  This is the why of solitude with God.  I simply make room for God to do what only God is able to do.  Yet the excuses I make (to myself and to others) for not making this space are endless.  Why would I want to cheat myself out of God’s deepest longing for me?  Is it because I don’t trust God?  Is it because I’m addicted to being in charge?  Is it because I’m simply afraid to let go and rest in the silence of God’s presence?

     If I am ever to enjoy a rhythm of solitude and silence, I will always need to exert some effort.  However, the effort is not to be building outwardly but to protect that little cell of my heart, the part of me where God and I get to be together—to protect it and then to find the solitude where God will enter and spend time with me. (Running on Empty by Fil Anderson)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Be the Center

Jesus, be the center,
Be my source, be my light, Jesus
Jesus, be the center,
Be my hope, be my song, Jesus

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, be my vision,
Be my path, be my guide, Jesus.

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails

Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus


Closing Prayer
You have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence we shall be strengthened. By Your Spirit lift us to Your Presence where we may be still and know that You are God. (from The Book of Common Prayer adapted in Living Prayer by Robert Benson)

balance, day 5

Come to Stillness:

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

Opening Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

     During this day help me quiet all the thoughts that fill my head—where I must go, whom I must see, and what I must do. In their place, give me a sense of your order, your peace, and your time.

     Help me to understand that you are in control, and I can trust you with my day. Help me to realize that nothing on my to-do list is important if it is not what you want me to do.

      I give all my tasks to you and trust you to bring order to them. In these moments, dear Jesus, come to me, be with me, and free me from the tyranny of “to do.” (Quiet Spaces by Patricia F. Wilson)

 

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 127

Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 55:1-13

Reading for Reflection:

 

I had come to wonder sometimes at the lack of depth in my prayer.  I began to worry, too, at the sense of imbalance in my life and at the lack of centeredness as well.  I began to wonder if those things had a connection to my prayer.  I began to realize that the longing that I had, and have, for the presence of God could no longer be filled by a few stolen moments of extemporaneous prayer.  I began to have a sneaking suspicion that prayer was a larger and deeper and richer and more astonishing thing than I had known before.  I began to desire a way of life that was more like the lively and reasonable sacrifice that is called for by the words of the Eucharist.

     Although my life had been spent largely in the church and around people of faith, I had had a growing sense that I could go no deeper in my journey without some manner of instruction and experience in some ways of prayer other than the one I already knew.  “We fool ourselves if we think that such a sacramental way of living is automatic,” wrote Richard Foster once, in a book about prayer and discipline.  “This kind of living communion does not just fall on our heads.  We must desire it and seek it out.  We must order our lives in particular ways.” (A Good Life by Robert Benson)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Be the Center

Jesus, be the center,
Be my source, be my light, Jesus
Jesus, be the center,
Be my hope, be my song, Jesus

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, be my vision,
Be my path, be my guide, Jesus.

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails

Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus


Closing Prayer
You have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence we shall be strengthened. By Your Spirit lift us to Your Presence where we may be still and know that You are God. (from The Book of Common Prayer adapted in Living Prayer by Robert Benson)

balance, day 4

Come to Stillness:

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

Opening Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

     During this day help me quiet all the thoughts that fill my head—where I must go, whom I must see, and what I must do. In their place, give me a sense of your order, your peace, and your time.

     Help me to understand that you are in control, and I can trust you with my day. Help me to realize that nothing on my to-do list is important if it is not what you want me to do.

      I give all my tasks to you and trust you to bring order to them. In these moments, dear Jesus, come to me, be with me, and free me from the tyranny of “to do.” (Quiet Spaces by Patricia F. Wilson)

 

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 127

Scripture for the Day: Matthew 6:25-34

Reading for Reflection:

One reason we have difficulty praying is that we are unable to quiet down enough to become sensitive to the movements of the Spirit.  This usually happens because we have been living our lives at too fast a pace.  Rushing from one activity to the next, we lose touch with the Spirit.  We are not moving against the Spirit in a sinful way, but we are not allowing the Spirit to infuse our activities, enabling us to perform them in peace and joy.  Finding ourselves anxious and worried both about the result of our work and about getting it all finished within the allotted time, we come to prayer restless and find it almost impossible to quiet our minds in a way that allows us to be sensitive to the movements of the Spirit.  Since we cannot allow the Spirit to bring us to the Lord, we begin composing our own monologue to the Lord, expressing our own needs and concerns, often in a rushed and rather compulsive way.  It often seems that we could be using our time more effectively by skipping prayer and finishing the work we left undone.  Prayer will remain difficult until we develop a rhythm of life that enables us to work in tune with the Spirit, thus experiencing the peace and joy that flows from the Spirit’s presence.  If we are living in tune with the Spirit during the day, it is easy to allow the Spirit to unite us to the Lord during prayer. (In His Spirit by Richard J. Hauser)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Be the Center

Jesus, be the center,
Be my source, be my light, Jesus
Jesus, be the center,
Be my hope, be my song, Jesus

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, be my vision,
Be my path, be my guide, Jesus.

Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in these sails

Be the reason that I live, Jesus, Jesus


Closing Prayer
You have taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence we shall be strengthened. By Your Spirit lift us to Your Presence where we may be still and know that You are God. (from The Book of Common Prayer adapted in Living Prayer by Robert Benson)