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Written by John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Spanish priest and reformer of the Carmelite way of life. This is an excerpt from his book “Loving God Through the Darkness.”

Endeavor to be inclined always:

Not to the easiest, but to the most difficult;

Not to the most delightful, but to the most distasteful;

Not to the most gratifying, but to the less pleasant;

Not to what means rest for you, but to hard work;

Not to the most, but to the least;

Not to the highest and most precious, but to the lowest and most despised;

Not to wanting something, but to wanting nothing.

Prayer:

Written by Annie McGuire, a contemporary Bible teacher and ministry leader.

Dear Lord, please tune my ear to your voice today. I want to be sensitive to your Spirit. Quiet the noise of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Soothe my soul with your still small voice. Allow me to hear your words above the relentless roars of the enemy. Silence my inner critic and help me to stay firmly planted on the solid ground of truth. Amen.

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Written by Elizabeth J. Canham, a contemporary pastor and writer.  This is an excerpt from her work “Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?”

Wisdom is not limited to the ivory towers of a privileged few but is revealed in all walks of life for any who live in righteousness, justice, equity, and prudence. Wisdom comes into the heart of all who embrace God’s way.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the Sarum Primer, a book of prayers and Christian worship resources from the 1500s, collected at the Salisbury Cathedral.

O God,

you count the number of the stars,

and call them all by their names.

Heal the contrite in heart,

gather together the outcasts,

and enrich us with the fullness of your wisdom;

through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Written by Stephen V. Doughty and Marjorie J. Thomson.  This is an excerpt from their book “The Way of Discernment.”

The monk Thomas Merton once asked an earnest student a question that he immediately answered himself: “How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun.” The student, James Finley, thought long about that image and years later wrote, “A small green apple cannot ripen in one night by tightening all its muscles, squinting its eyes and tightening its jaw in order to find itself the next morning miraculously large, red, ripe, and juicy.” The apple just sits in the sun. It is naturally positioned to receive the daily nourishment it needs to ripen. This is similar to how we mature in the fullness of God’s life; except we are not naturally positioned like the apple. We must place ourselves where we can receive the light of God, and this is the purpose of spiritual disciplines. Through them we position ourselves to receive the sunlight of God’s grace.

Prayer:

Written by a member of the St. Francis church in the UK. Every evening at 7:00 p.m. the Youth and Children’s team post a Prayer and light a candle and share it on Facebook. This is one of those prayers.

Lord,
as daylight fills the sky,
fill us with your holy light.
May our lives mirror our love for you
whose wisdom has brought us into being,
and whose care guides us on our way.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Written by John S. Mogabgab (1946-2014), a theologian, editor,  and friend of Henri Nouwen. This is an excerpt from an Editor’s Introduction to a 1992 edition of the publication “Weavings.”

Richard Baxter, the seventeenth-century English divine, once described the chief end of contemplation as “acquaintance and fellowship with God” (The Saint’s Everlasting Rest). The homely simplicity of Baxter’s definition points to the essential dimensions of contemplative life. It is, in the first place, a life of deepening acquaintance with God, a life of removing the layers of misunderstanding that obscure our relationship with the Holy One. As we strip away the fear, mistrust, anger, or pain that encases our heart, we come to see that our desire for God is in fact an echo of God’s far more encompassing and passionate desire for us. Contemplative awareness confirms that God is closer than we think, that there is no path to God that is not first God’s path to us. Contemplative life explores these paths; it is wholly dedicated to the one thing necessary; it is a life consumed with and by God, and therefore a life committed to ever more unguarded exposure to the love that is at once the source, transformation, and joy of human existence.

Prayer:

Written by Brother Alois, a contemporary priest.

Christ Jesus, to each one of us you say: “Do not be afraid. Come on further: follow me.” Listening to your voice in the Gospel gives us the courage to leave behind everything that hinders our walk with you, and to live for the people God entrusts to us. Amen.

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Written by Rueben P. Job (1928-2015), an American writer and Marjorie J. Thompson, a contemporary minister, teacher, and writer. This is an excerpt from their book “Companions in Christ.”

A loving, living relationship with God is impossible without prayer. We cannot know the mind and heart of Christ, receive God’s direction, hear God’s voice, or respond to God’s call without this means of grace. We may enter God’s kingdom without the benefit of some of the means of grace but not without prayer. Prayer is so important that Jesus left even the needy crowd to pray. His entire life and ministry were set in the context of prayer. Those who choose to follow him can do no better than to take up his example.

Prayer:

Written by Eli Stanley Jones (1884-1973), an American Methodist missionary, theologian, and author.

Gracious Christ, teach me to pray. For if I fall down here, I fall down everywhere—anemia spreads through my whole being. Give me the mind to pray, the love to pray, the will to pray. Let prayer be the aroma of every act, the atmosphere of every thought, my native air. In Your name. Amen.

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Written by L. B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American writer and author of devotional books.

Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and merry. We must go down into “depths” if we would experience this most precious of God’s gifts–comfort, and thus be prepared to be co-workers together with Him. When night–needful night–gathers over the garden of our souls, when the leaves close up, and the flowers no longer hold any sunlight within their folded petals, there shall never be wanting, even in the thickest darkness, drops of heavenly dew–dew which falls only when the sun has gone.

Prayer:

Written by Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and leader of the Protestant Reformation.

 Look, Lord, on an empty vessel that needs to be filled.

In faith I am weak – strengthen me.

In love I am cold – warm me and make me fervent

   so that my love may go out to my neighbor.

I doubt and am unable to trust you completely.

Lord, strengthen my faith and trust in you.

You are all the treasure I possess.

I am poor, you are rich, and you came to have mercy on the poor.

I am a sinner, you are goodness.

From you I can receive goodness, but I can give you nothing.

Therefore I shall stay with you.

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Written by Renovare, an organization developed by Richard Foster to support spiritual development. This is an excerpt from a class called “Inside Out.”

You are a spiritual being. You have an intangible center that shapes how you see the world and yourself, directs your choices, and guides your actions. This is the human spirit, sometimes called the “will” or the “heart.” It is what makes you, you. And it is why humans are the only creatures on earth made in the image of God. Your ability to choose, your capacity to connect with God and others, and what you desire all flow from your spirit. Richard Foster said, “It is the radical source of our life; the stream of actions and influences and contributions we make to our shared, visible world and its history.” In other words, how your spirit is formed affects everything in your life… A truly good, full existence starts with making Jesus Christ the primary shaping influence on the inner life. Why Jesus? The disciple Peter said it well:  “to whom else would we go?” No one can match Jesus’ wisdom about life’s most important questions. And he lived what he taught—he was patient, compassionate, self-giving, and completely in sync with God’s law of love. Jesus is the perfect picture of a well-formed human spirit. But more than just a past good example, Jesus is a present reality. He is alive, and his Spirit is available to you as an ever-present teacher and guide. He has divine power— far greater than any other source—to shape you from the inside out. You can’t escape every negative influence, but you can place your spirit in the care of One who outshines the rest. Giving Christ this place of influence is crucial if we want to become people who inhabit our unique place and time with the quality of life he had, flowing from the kind of well-formed center he had.

Prayer:

Written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), a writer in spirituality.

Let our lives run to your embrace … and breathe the breath of eternity. O God Supreme! Most secret and most present, most beautiful and strong. Constant yet incomprehensible, changeless yet changing all! What can I say, my God, my Life, my Holy Joy … You are the only reality. Amen.

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Written by Sandra Richter, a contemporary Old Testament scholar, author, speaker and professor. This is an excerpt from her book “The Epic of Eden: Book of Psalms.”

The great 4th century Church Father, Athanasius once said: “The Psalms have a unique place in the Bible because [whereas] most of Scripture speaks to us, the Psalms speak for us.” No truer words have been spoken. When we open up the book of Psalms, we find 150 of the most compelling, captivating, and heart-wrenching prayers ever uttered. And a full third of these can be categorized as “laments.” What is a lament? It is a psalm of complaint that names, often in graphic detail, the agonies and injustices of life. As Martin Luther once said, in a lament “you look into the hearts of the saints” and what you see there is a potent mixture of pain… and hope…To read a lament is to watch an ancient believer as they stand against the storm. For a modern believer to pray a lament is to allow the ancients to join you in the midst of your storm.

Prayer:

Written by Debbie Przybylski, a contemporary author and founder/director of Intercessors Arise International.

Lord, I know that you are faithful over all things, even the hard, dark times of my life. Help me not back away from you in my time of grief. Help me instead to lean into you and trust you, even when I do not understand your ways. Please keep my head above the waters of anguish and my feet from slipping off the ground of truth. Help me see you in these hard moments and glorify you in my response. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Written by Louie Giglio, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker.  This is an excerpt from his book “Seeing God as a Perfect Father.”

Sometimes in church or Christian circles, people focus on the moment of conversion as if it’s a sort of end point. Yes, the moment of accepting the gift of love being offered to each of us by God is crucial — but when a person comes to Christ, their journey has just begun! What flows from the Good Father to His children is a waterfall of transformation and blessing. And as His children, we can expect to take on His nature and learn from His loving example. What does it mean to mature in God? Some may call this process of growth discipleship. Others may think of it as God, the perfect Parent, modeling His power for His children and changing them from the inside out. Like children, we imitate God by becoming the mouth of God, the eyes of God, the ears of God, the hands of God, the feet of God, the heart of God, the thoughts of God, the compassion of God, the justice of God, the love of God. That’s how we mature. That’s how we grow up. As we walk with God, God shows us how to truly live. 

Prayer:

Written by Brendan the Voyager (AD 484-577), an Irish monk. Reputedly he set sail in a small coracle of wood and ox hide from Ireland and ended up in Newfoundland — an amazing achievement in his time.

Help me to journey beyond the familiar

and into the unknown.

Give me the faith to leave old ways

and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You

to be stronger than each storm within me.

I will trust in the darkness and know

that my times, even now, are in Your hand.

Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,

and somehow, make my obedience count for You. Amen.

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Written by Brian Morykon, a contemporary communications director for Renovare, a Christian organization that helps people in their spiritual formation.

With so much in the world to weep about, I’m tempted to believe that sorrow has the final word, that suffering is the fundamental reality of life. But then I think of the laugh of Desmond Tutu, the smile of Corrie ten Boom, and the unshakable heart of Jesus himself.  And I remember the truth: joy is what is real.  I’m talking about substantive joy—the kind that has known deep pain and grief. It doesn’t pretend everything’s just fine but it knows all shall be well. We can’t force our way into true joy but we can make room for it. In fact, making room for it is our calling. The Apostle Paul says, “Celebrate God all day, every day.” That doesn’t mean we ignore hard situations, stuff uncomfortable emotions, and plaster a smile on our face. It means our central focus is on the unshakable reality of the Kingdom of God. “One of the best ways to stay in touch with reality,” says Jan Johnson, “is to fully notice and even celebrate the good things that happen in our lives…. To notice these things is to live in reality!”  If you’re someone like me who deeply values authenticity, this idea—that giving thanks is to live in reality—is a big deal.  Because often when I give thanks there’s a nagging voice that points out, What right do you have to be thankful when so-and-so is suffering and this-or-that terrible situation is happening in the world. And that voice seems reasonable, logical. It almost convinces me that not giving thanks is the more spiritual thing to do. I don’t know where that voice is coming from but I do know it’s not the Lord.  We can always choose thankfulness and rejoicing in God in this present moment without second guessing. It’s literally the will of God for our lives.  I’m still thinking about Desmond Tutu—there is something in the laugh of a man who’s seen and overcome terrible things that fills a heart with courage.

Prayer:

Today’s prayer is from the Mozarabic Breviary, a liturgical rite of the Latin Church once used generally in the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania), in what is now Spain and Portugal.  Developed during Visigoth (Arian Christian) rule of the Iberian peninsula in the 500s AD.

 O Lord Jesus Christ, who art the ineffable joy of Christians, take away from us whatever is not Yours, and make us Yours in all things. We beseech You to hear us, O Lord. Amen.

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