How I pray

I am not sure what went through your mind when you saw the title of today's post? Sadly, I am not going to give you a special prayer formula or even tell you how I pray. Instead, I am going to pass on these words from Thomas Merton, as I found them very helpful. In his work, Day of a Stranger, he wrote:

"What I wear is pants. What I do is live. How I pray is breathe."

His insight is almost so simple, that I nearly missed his point. Prayer doesn't need to be complicated at all. We simply need to acknowledge that every breath we take is an act of prayer - it is an offering to our Creator; it is a submission to our Saviour. 

Job 33:4 - For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Living in Grace

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An authentic prayer by Thomas Merton

Prayers can be contrived at times, but they can also be deeply authentic. Take this famous prayer by Thomas Merton as an example. There is so much heart and honesty in his words, that I feel we all can relate to his thoughts.

"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 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 to be 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." - Thomas Merton

Hebrews 5:7 - While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.

Living in Grace

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What does it mean to be 'poor in spirit?'

The person who is poor in spirit is someone who realises the poverty of their worship and that they can't carry on in their own strength. To be poor in spirit is to be humble, without being beaten down, but to acknowledge your limited resources and your need of God.

As Matthew Henry once remarked: "To be poor in spirit does not mean one who is weak in spirit, but one who, looks to God alone to preserve him in the midst of his afflictions. He does not live out of his own resources, nor is he relying on his own achievements - his trust is in God." 

“How blessed are the poor in spirit! for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." - Complete Jewish Bible

Many religious people in Jesus' day had become proud of their spiritual pedigree and accomplishments. In other words, they had become full of themselves. And the obvious result of this attitude, is that then we have no room for God. If I am 'full' of myself, there is little space for God to dwell.

"Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real." - Thomas Merton

Living in Grace

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Contemplations for Lent

Thomas Merton was a prolific author, speaker, mystic, poet and theologian. His writing provokes us to reflect deeply on our faith experience and our journey with Christ. I feel that the liturgical season of Lent is a good time for us to use some of his words as a catalyst for our own contemplations: 

"In a world of noise, confusion and conflict it is necessary that there be places of silence, inner discipline and peace. In such places love can blossom. "

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy."

“The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds.”

Luke 17:11-13 - "As they continued onward toward Jerusalem, they reached the border between Galilee and Samaria, 12 and as they entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, sir, have mercy on us!”

Living in grace

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Like dynamite

Dynamite was invented in the 1860's by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel. We are all aware of it's destructive qualities, but when used under careful supervision, it has the power to move massive mountains of rock and soil. 

I am not sure if you have ever considered the power of God's Spirit to be like that of dynamite? When the Spirit of God moves in our lives, it has the dynamic power to transform stubborn hearts into vessels used for the Kingdom of God. It is this same Holy Spirit that is at work in our lives, if we surrender to the supervision of Jesus Christ. 

I love this short poem by Thomas Merton, who describes what can happen Christ sets us free.

"Make ready for my Christ,
whose smile,
like lightning,
sets free the song of everlasting glory
that now sleeps in your paper flesh like dynamite."

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven.

Living in Grace

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Coming, ready or not!

Even as we wait out the final seven days until Christmas, it struck me that Jesus comes into His world, whether we are ready or not. And whether we like it or not! In the words of Thomas Merton:

“Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.”― Thomas Merton

Jesus doesn't really need to be invited onto his own planet, but he does need to be invited into each heart. 

Have you done this already? If not, what is stopping us from inviting Christ into our hearts again?

Mark 1:3 - "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’”

Living in Grace

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Love is risky

"Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." - 1 John 4:11 

What does this mean for you today? 

John gives us the starting point of our expression of love - it is God's love for us. That is the origin.

This is interesting, because usually the world suggests that we love others because of something they have done for us. However, Jesus turns this on its head. He reminds us all that if we wait for someone to love us first, before we love them, we may never get to share our love with anyone. Love is risky.

"True happiness is found in unselfish Love, A love which increases in proportion as it is shared." - Thomas Merton

Living in Grace

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Love is its own reward

Thomas Merton once mused:
"Love seeks only one thing: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward."

In this month of love, wouldn't it be amazing if we all sought the good of the ones we love without seeking any other reward. Imagine that 'LOVE' was all the reward we needed?

1 John 4:11 - "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Living in Grace
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Our contradictions

The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/thomas-merton-quotes

"The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me." - Thomas Merton

We can be such a mix of contradictions at times.
We are full of kindness one moment and then suddenly we struggle to cope with our selfishness. Our patience levels seem to have improved and then we lose our cool in a fleeting moment. One day we feel so close to God and the next it seems a massive struggle just to read your Bible.

Perhaps Paul summed up our contradictions well when he said: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." - Romans 7:15

Thomas Merton is onto something when he suggests that God's mercy is revealed to us through our contradictions. God could grow weary and impatient with us, but he chooses not to. God understands our struggle with sin and offers us redemption through Jesus Christ.

What 'contradictions' do you battle with at the moment?

Living in Grace
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Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/thomas-merton-quotes

In God's Image

"To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name." - Thomas Merton

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." - Genesis 1:27

You are created in the image of God and therefore you are beautifully and wonderfully made.
We are NOT God, but we carry his likeness in our souls when we allow God's Spirit to fill our hearts.

Living in Grace
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Looking for God

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." - Matthew 5:8

"Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how." -Thomas Merton

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Living for a reason

“If you want to identify me, 
ask me not where I live, 
or what I like to eat, 
or how I comb my hair, 
but ask me what I am living for, 
in detail, 
ask me what I think is keeping me 
from living fully for the thing I want to live for.”- Thomas Merton

I think this quote is awesome.
It needs no explanation.
It hits hard!

So, WHAT are you living for?

Romans 14:9 - For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

Living in Grace
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A full plate

Sometimes we just have too much on our plates - as the saying goes, "we have a full plate!"
Of course, this idiom could be referring to actual food on our plates, but for most of us it applies to the busy lives that we lead. We have so many things to do, that we wonder if we will ever get through the long list.

Of course, we easily justify that being busy is much better than being lazy or ill-disciplined.  However, we need to find a healthy balance in all things. Being idle is not godly, but neither is being too busy. It is a fine line to walk and often I don't get it right. I am not sure about you?

How is your schedule looking at the moment? If you are feeling overwhelmed then perhaps you need to plan a little time away from the rush of life and to ask God to help you to get back into balance.

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." -Thomas Merton

1 Timothy 5:13 -  "Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to."

Living in Grace
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