God's voice, day 1

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

Opening Prayer:
Lord, teach me to listen.  The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them.  Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to Thee, “Speak, for thy servant heareth.”  Let me hear Thee speaking in my heart.  Let me get used to the sound of Thy voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Thy speaking voice.  Amen.  (The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer)


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 29

Scripture for the Day: Matthew 3:13-17

Reading for Reflection:

Theological reflection is reflecting on the painful and joyful realities of every day with the mind of Jesus and thereby raising human consciousness to the knowledge of God’s gentle guidance.  This is a hard discipline, since God’s presence is often a hidden presence, a presence that needs to be discovered.  The loud, boisterous noises of the world make us deaf to the soft, gentle, and loving voice of God.  A Christian leader is called to help people to hear that voice and so be comforted and consoled. (In the Name of Jesus by Henri J. M. Nouwen)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Blessed Be Your Name

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

 Blessed be your name

When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out, I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say...

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

Blessed be your name

When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

 Blessed be your name

On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be your name
You give and take away, You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name!

Closing Prayer:
Father, 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. (Living Prayer by Robert Benson)

shaped by the word, day 7

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

Opening Prayer:
Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 1

Scripture for the Day: Proverbs 3:1-6

Reading for Reflection:

We read Scripture in order to listen again to the Word of God spoken, and when we do, we hear Him speak.  Somehow or other these words live. (Working The Angles by Eugene Peterson)

Scripture is more than a word about God; every word of scripture is always consecrating, always releasing immense energy.  It is not simply revealing God to his people but revealing to us who we are in God, and who we are to become. (Gathering Fragments by Edward J. Farrell)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord, Speak to Me

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
 
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
 
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

 

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
 
Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone.

Closing Prayer:
O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy Word and I loved Thee.
                                                                               ~St. Augustine

shaped by the word, day 6

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

Opening Prayer:
Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 1

Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 55:8-13

Reading for Reflection:

Before this time my (devotional) practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as an habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after having dressed in the morning.  Now I saw, that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditating, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.  I began therefore, to meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning.
     The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my soul.  The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer. (The Autobiography of George Mueller)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord, Speak to Me

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
 
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
 
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

 

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
 
Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone.

Closing Prayer:
O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy Word and I loved Thee.
                                                                               ~St. Augustine

shaped by the word, day 5

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

Opening Prayer:
Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 1

Scripture for the Day: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Reading for Reflection:

The Word of Scripture should never stop sounding in your ears and working in you all day long, just like the words of someone you love.  And just as you do not analyze the words of someone you love, but accept them as they are said to you, accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart, as Mary did.  That is all.  That is meditation…Do not ask “How shall I pass this on?” but “What does it say to me?”  Then ponder this Word long in your heart until it has gone right into you and taken possession of you. (Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord, Speak to Me

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
 
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
 
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

 

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
 
Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone.

Closing Prayer:
O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy Word and I loved Thee.
                                                                               ~St. Augustine

shaped by the word, day 4

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

Opening Prayer:
Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 1

Scripture for the Day: Hebrews 4:12-13

Reading for Reflection:

We listen to the Word, to the silence of prayer, and to the poem of our own lives, for in all these God is speaking.  And if God is speaking, then nothing else matters but listening.
     When it comes to listening to God speak, we must always begin with the Word of God, His clearest and most authoritative voice.  But, as in all listening, we must learn to allow the other Person to speak.  This may sound oversimplified, but in fact it can be a major task.  When we find ourselves trying to listen to someone whose speech is slow or deliberate, the great temptation is to finish their sentences for them.  The same is often the case when we listen to God’s Word, particularly to familiar passages.  Adopting a listening stance before the Word means keeping your mind as quiet as possible and letting the Bible finish its own sentences and stories.  Allowing the Bible to speak for itself means listening with as few presuppositions as possible.
     Often we fail in listening when we read only for theological or doctrinal affirmation.  The baptism of Jesus becomes a proof text for immersion and not a scene to which we are transported by our imagination.  The crucifixion becomes a necessary piece of the puzzle for redemption, the obligatory final step in a long “holy history,” and not a heartbreaking moment of transformation.  Parables and visions become codes to break, sponges to squeeze dry and then leave behind.  Sometimes my own temptation is to merely use the Bible as a folder for lyrics.
     In all these ways and more, we effectively plug our ears to the Voice of Scripture.  The simple act (which is sometimes not so simple) of quieting our minds and hearts and allowing the Bible to speak, as if it has never before spoken in its own voice to you, will transform your time with the Word.  Be quiet, be patient, and let Scripture say what it has to say! (The Walk by Michael Card)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord, Speak to Me

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
 
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
 
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

 

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
 
Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone.

Closing Prayer:
O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy Word and I loved Thee.
                                                                               ~St. Augustine

shaped by the word, day 3

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

Opening Prayer:
Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 1

Scripture for the Day: Joshua 1:1-9

Reading for Reflection:

If scripture is to become my teacher, I must put on each story like a robe to be worn, identifying with the characters, walking in their shoes, feeling with their hearts. (Seasons of the Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr)

The practice of lectio divina (sacred reading) guides us to the inner work that brings about transformation.  It requires a deep listening to the Word planted in our souls.  It summons us to a tender abiding in the hidden mystery of God.  It asks of us a patient waiting for God’s personal revelation of truth to us.  It draws us into a loving romance with the One who rules the world from the throne of our hearts.  It encourages in us a joyful expectation of the healing touch of the Beloved.  A deep listening!  A tender abiding!  A patient waiting!  A loving romance!  A joyful expectation!  These are the warm invitations of this gentle way of being with the Word of God.  The gift of this intimate way of praying does not come in one sitting.  It is a daily discipline requiring faithful practice. 

     Long ago when I was a novice in monastic life, I would get up before the crack of dawn and trudge sleepily to our monastery chapel to pray the Divine Office with my sisters.  Together we would climb through the Psalms: praising God, rejoicing, pleading, complaining, yearning, crying out, thanking.

     In our daily classes we were assured that if we were faithful to the Word we would be drawn more deeply into relationship with God, making our morning treks to the chapel a delight.  In our daily pondering of the Scriptures, we were asked to listen with the ear of the heart.  It was all very romantic at first, but the crack of dawn began coming too soon.  The romance wore off.  I am happy to say that now, in my middle years, the romance is returning.  I am beginning to see lectio divina as a way to romance the Word.

     When you romance the Word, you pursue the Word as it pursues you.  You ponder it, pray it, sing it, study it, love it.  You treasure it as Mary treasured the mysteries unfolding in her life (Luke 2:19-20).  Listen to it with the ear of your heart.  Cling to it as to a beloved.  Cherish it.  Become a home for it. (The Song of the Seed by Macrina Wiederkehr)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord, Speak to Me

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
 
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
 
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

 

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
 
Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone.

Closing Prayer:
O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy Word and I loved Thee.
                                                                               ~St. Augustine

shaped by the word, day 2

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

Opening Prayer:
Saving God, you set your heart on us and made us your own.  May we listen with the ear of our hearts to the many ways your Word and your love will be present to us and formed in us this day.  We ask this through Jesus, the Word made flesh.  Amen.  (The Work of God)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 1

Scripture for the Day: Psalm 119:1-16

Reading for Reflection:

My beginning advice to you is this: Always read the Scriptures with a heart ready to repent.  Receive the storm that repentance brings.  Let the holy winds toss you to and fro.  You will be awakened to new depths as you wrestle with the life forces within.  What seems like violence at first will lead you gently into the eye of God where all is calm and quiet, like the eye of a hurricane.  When you finally surrender and stop fighting the winds, you will be carried into the eye of God.  There, you will rest in peace and learn to see like God.  It will be the great harvest of contemplation—through the storm into the quiet. (A Tree Full of Angels by Macrina Wiederkehr)

If we would dance our way into some deeper communion with God, we must stop working on the Word, wherever it is found, and let the Word begin to work on us. (Living Prayer by Robert Benson)


Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord, Speak to Me

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
 
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
 
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

 

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
 
Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone.

Closing Prayer:
O Lord, Thou didst strike my heart with Thy Word and I loved Thee.
                                                                               ~St. Augustine