Love Him...

"Love Him and I will tell you to do no more. For if you love Him, everything else will work out. I am not asking you for a tender and emotional love, but simply that you lean toward love. Put God before yourself and the world and even your evil desires will begin to be transformed." ~ Francis Fenelon, “100 Days in the Secret Place,” compiled by Gene Edwards

learning to pray: lean toward God with love.

What Time Is it?

A friend of mine asked me last night what I’ve been learning about time. He asked because he said he has had a less stressed out week this last week because he made a decision to be less concerned with time, and more focused on the task at hand, and the people he was with. Basically, he has been practicing presence, and looking at his watch less often!

Many of us tend to get caught up in, or weighed down by time. We have incredible anxiety about the future that keeps us from giving our full attention to what we are DOING RIGHT NOW. This is a stressful, even unhealthy, way to live, but most of us live this way anyway.

My wife and my two teenage daughters take a lot longer to get ready to go out than I do. Somewhere along the way I had to decide that I wasn’t going to let the time that I spent waiting for them stress me out. I can’t even tell you how I did it. Maybe it was simply a gift of patience from God, but whatever it was, it was a great stress reliever for everyone concerned.

Jesus encouraged us not to worry. He said look at the birds, and look at the lilies of the field; they don’t strive, or get stressed out, and yet God takes care of them. He goes on to say that if we seek him first all then other stuff will be taken care of. For Jesus, faith and anxiety don’t mix.* I encourage you to go outside and actually watch the birds, or stare at a flower or a tree for a while. See what insights you come up with.

Around 300 years ago, Francis Fenelon said,

“Make a habit of bringing your attention back to God on a regular basis…and you will undoubtedly find him with peace and joy.”**

For me, this is the key to overcoming my anxiety about time. When I find myself getting stressed out, it’s a sign, or an invitation even, to bring my attention back to God. If I do this often enough, the peace of Christ will rule my heart (Col. 3).

None of this means that we don’t put in a good hard day’s work. It speaks to the “how” of everyday life. My friend that I mentioned above had a very productive week, he just did it differently. By being less concerned with time he did what he had to do with a lot more inner peace.

Learning to pray: TRUSTING GOD is a huge issue for many of us, and can go very deep, even to the core of who we are, and what we believe about God. What is keeping you from trusting God with your time and your future?

*”Everything Belongs” by Richard Rohr
** “100 Days in the Secret Place,” compiled by Gene Edwards

From 24-7 Prayer: Incarnation vs. Attraction

"The guys who attacked Timothy smashed a beer bottle in his face, beat him with their fists and kicked him until he was able to break through the circle they made around him and get away." Read More...

BOOM!!!

I have to admit I haven’t had a lot to say about learning to pray over the last week or so, and I am okay with that. More on this in a minute…

Last night we headed down to Bellingham, Washington to join our friends on the Fourth of July to blow things up! Us Canadians need to get with the program and create a holiday where we get to create copious amounts of explosions and set our lawns, and t-shirts on fire. It’s a heck of a lot of fun!

As I was getting ready this morning I was thinking about learning to pray and how I’ve just been in a quiet, peaceful place lately without a lot of spiritual fireworks going off. I guess as a result, I haven’t had the desire to write about learning to pray. I’ve thought about digging out my journals and finding some experience from the past to write about, but then I thought better of it.

"Only gradually, and with good direction, do we realize that drought means growth" - Thomas H. Green, S.J.

Being quiet and peaceful may not make for great blogging, but I have been learning that it is a fact of a life of prayer. The longer we pray - and I’m talking faithful prayer for years and years - prayer becomes less and less about the fireworks and more and more about simply being with the God who passionately loves us. Once we can simply be with God, and get beyond the need for spiritual fireworks, then we get to a place of truly loving God.

I think this is really hard for the modern North American Christian to accept, or even desire. It was kind of a surprise to me to find out as I have been pursuing a life of prayer that “the desert”, “the dry well”, and “the dark night of the soul,” was where a life of prayer was leading me. Like the rest of society I crave the drama, and the big show. I am addicted to it just like everyone else. However, I have been learning that there will come a time in my spiritual life, if I am faithful in prayer, “When the Well Runs Dry.”*

Although it isn't easy to experience, it’s okay for the "well to run dry" because it’s a time when I will grow deeper and deeper in the knowledge and love of God. It’s a time when I will finally become free of the addiction to the fireworks of life, and my passion for God and his will to be done, will grow deeper, and deeper still.

*"When the Well Runs Dry" by Thomas H. Green, S.J.

Rest In God

"I believe that we have no real access to who we really are except in God. Only when we rest in God can we find the safety, the spaciousness, and the scary freedom to be who we are, all that we are, more than we are, and less than we are."

Richard Rohr - Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer

Grad '07

Well, we now have two graduates and I must say I am very proud of them both. We got to hang out with Jessica (that's her with her date in the picture above) at her banquet and during the her Grad cruise, and she handled herself with her usual class and dignity.

One of her best friends took some amazing pictures of her in her grad dress in Fort Langley, BC. To have a look go to http://jamiedelaine.wordpress.com and this is a slide show: http://www.jamiedelaine.com/index2.php

C.H.Spurgeon said...

“PRAYER ITSELF IS AN ART WHICH ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN TEACH US. PRAY FOR PRAYER. PRAY UNTIL YOU CAN REALLY PRAY!”