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Posts Tagged ‘John of the Cross’

Watchful and Thankful

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Intriguing instruction to be watchful and thankful in prayer. I mean, these aren’t two words one would normally put together for something as benign-seeming as prayer. And yet, it’s not the first time Paul speaks of danger in the prayer closet or the necessity for alertness.

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

But is there danger in my prayers? Not hardly. At least, not at first blush. I rarely consider myself to be in deep spiritual battle. Or am I?

Is it possible that mere steadfastness, faithfulness, and consistency can make waves in the spiritual realm? Is it possible that I am part of the “transformational” by holding up my friends and family in the Light of the Christ? Is it possible that my quiet moments of deep connection to the Spirit have resounding impact? And if that is so, is it possible that there is push back that manifests in ways I do not realize?

Perhaps this is what it means to be watchful in prayer: becoming aware of the imprint of God. Watch for movement in the spirit realm. Allow the spiritual senses to become alive in prayer: not just seeing with the inner eye, but also hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling.

One of my all-time favorite devotionals is You Set My Spirit Free: A 40-Day Journey in the Company of John of the Cross, arranged and paraphrased by David Hazard [1994]: “He creates in you the desire to find Him [the Spirit] and run after Him–to follow wherever He leads you, and to press peacefully against His heart wherever He is . . . Press, and keep pressing into His heart, until you have pressed the image of His invisible nature into the substance of your soul.”

Be watchful. When this happens, there could be fireworks.

We are told in various places throughout the New Testament to give thanks, from Romans 14:6 to I Thessalonians 5:18 to Revelation 11:17. Give thanks.

I have always thought of this as something I must do willfully and consciously, but today I imagine what it would be like to be overcome with a spirit of thanksgiving. To give thanks out of a heart overflowing with an appreciation for the presence of God.

So then, the essence is to “be watchful” in order to experience the fullness of the Spirit which automatically leads to thankfulness. That’s good.

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What Do You Want?

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , on March 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 18:40-41
Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

At my Thursday night Bible study, we are studying Philippians and the most recent lesson was on verses 3:2-11. All throughout the evening, my heart drummed with the phrase, “What do you want?” In years past, this question would give me pause. There were so many things I wanted…. I never knew how to answer. But today, the answer has become crystal clear. I want to know Jesus, the Christ.

David Hazard has paraphrased St. John of the Cross in You Set My Spirit Free:

Press, and keep pressing into His heart, until you have pressed the image of His invisible nature into the substance of your soul… God offers to take you with His loving hand and lead you where you cannot go by yourself… along a way that no human eye can see, and that is the way of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God. I present my heart-soul. This is where I begin, pressing in and pressing on, in the way.

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