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.