devotion, day 5

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

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 86

Scripture for the Day: Matthew 25:1-13

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)

 

By participating in Christian disciplines, we live out our desire and intention to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.  As we do so, we are encouraged, instructed, healed, challenged, loved, renewed, and beckoned to God and godly living.

     While it is true that God is in every when and where and that many other things besides disciplines contribute to our deepening relationship with God, we discover that it makes a meaningful difference in everyday life when we set aside time, space, and ourselves to be more fully present with and attentive and responsive to God.  Disciplines are like faithful companions on the way.  The benefit we seek and desire most is deepening companionship with God.  We come away from other pursuits to listen for the still, small voice that is our best friend, our beloved Savior, the Holy One, God. (Holy Invitations by Jeanette Bakke)

 

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Lord Most High

From the ends of the earth
From the depths of the sea
From the heights of the heavens
Your name be praised

From the hearts of the weak
From the shouts of the strong
From the lips of all people
This song we raise, Lord

Throughout the endless ages
You will be crowned with praises,
Lord Most High
Exalted in every nation
Sovereign of all creation
Lord Most High, Be magnified

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)