Inner Journey Blog

Letting God be God in the Lives of Others

From the Intro to Brother Lawrence's Practicing God's Presence:

One of the most difficult things for us to do, yet most important to Our Father, is to let God be God. This sounds silly, doesn't it? How can we, mere humans, do anything else? The more we know of God's divine unchanging nature, the more obvious it becomes that we cannot change God. He always was, is now, and ever will be constant and unchanging.

So, then, why do we try? The problem for us and for God lies in the trying. We interfere. We meddle. We not only tell God what to do but how to do it. We try to give Him the benefit of our expertise, especially when it comes to others. We may sometimes take advantage of our special relationship with Him to advise Him on worldly matters. After all, we have His attention and are in His presence, so why not? Perhaps this will help:

"He (Brother Lawrence) said that as far as the miseries and sins he heard of daily in the world, he was so far from wondering at them, that, on the contrary, he was surprised there were not more considering the malice sinners were capable of. For his part, he prayed for them. But knowing that God could remedy the mischief they did when He pleased, he gave himself no further trouble."

Quite simply it all comes down to a matter of faith. It is a matter of faith in a special form called holy indifference. Unlike worldly indifference, holy indifference is an expression of our honor and esteem for Our Father.

Worldly indifference does not care and has no compassion. Worldly indifference lacks faith in an all-caring and compassionate God. Holy indifference is the special form of faith that is certain of an all-caring and compassionate God. In our relationship with God, this faith expresses our great love and respect for His superiority over us and His total capability of handling all of His creation.

Then, as a result of our lives of prayerful conversation with God and in the faith of holy indifference, we, like Brother Lawrence, can humbly say, "I do not pray that you may be delivered from your pains; but I pray earnestly that God gives you strength and patience to bear them as long as He pleases." As a result of our practice of the presence of God, the holy habit, we will come to understand how to let God be God.

A Contrite Heart

From the Intro to Brother Lawrence's Practicing God's Presence:

Little pleases God more than a contrite heart. Like the other aspects of practicing God's presence, a contrite heart is the result of regular practice of acts of contrition until we develop a habit. Also, like the other aspects of practicing God's presence, a contrite heart is not our natural way. Our worldly hearts are proud hearts, full of self-praise, self-justification, and self-righteousness.

Brother Lawrence emphasizes this regular exercise. "We must honestly consider and thoroughly examine ourselves. When we directly confront ourselves we will understand that we deserve all God sends to humble us."

When our conversation, our very relationship with God, matures to this level of understanding, we will thank Him with full gratitude for everything He has ever done to humble us. We will welcome whatever God may do to help bring our hearts into conformity with His heart.

But we cannot do this alone. Of ourselves, we are completely and totally incapable of recognizing, let alone overcoming, our proud hearts. The only way we can "honestly consider and thoroughly examine ourselves" and "directly confront ourselves" is through the very presence of God. We are completely dependent on Him to show us.

Only God can open our eyes to the truth. Without Him, we quickly become preoccupied with others. We start to look outside ourselves and weigh and measure by what we see there - worldly standards that are not His standards.

Only God, in the special conversation, the special relationship we have with Him, can tell us what we so desperately need to hear. For, as we practice the holy habit of living in God's presence, we develop a desperate need, an overwhelming desire for the blessed relief of the humility of a contrite heart. Only God can do this and He will. All we need to do is ask and keep asking for His cleansing light and grace.

Brother Lawrence's Methodless Method

From the intro to Brother Lawrence's Practicing God's Presence:

"People seek methods of learning to know God. Is it not much shorter and more direct to simply do everything for the love of Him? There is no finesse about it. One only has to do it generously and simply." ... Brother Lawrence

Brother Lawrence's THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD has been called the methodless method to living in God's constant presence. Yet that is not entirely true. Brother Lawrence does not present a structured method for us to follow. Instead, he demonstrates the method God will work in us as we turn over our will, our whole heart to Him.

As we prayerfully read and re-read the conversations and letters, the keys to Brother Lawrence's way of practicing God's presence begin to imprint themselves in our consciousness. Perhaps it is not too much to say, we begin to take on God's consciousness.

Instead of a method, we begin to see how God wants to work with us and in us. We discover that it is God who will show us and provide a way to remove the obstacles that block the path to Him. He will encourage our conversation with Him by making that time sweet, gentle, and a comfort beyond words.

God will share all kinds of secrets with us. Some will be deep mysteries that we will not be able to explain. Some will be solutions and practical applications for daily living. Some secrets, once He points them out, will be obvious. As we wonder why we never thought of them ourselves, God will share a good laugh with us. We'll share this loving laughter because what He really makes obvious is that, of all the things in heaven and on earth, His companionship is the only thing we cannot do without.

The Practice of the Presence of God is a way of life where we engage in continual conversation with God; walk with Him in love, humility, simplicity, and faith; and think, say, and do what is most pleasing to Him; because that is God's will for us.

Persevering in Meditation and Contemplation

Most of us get very discouraged at our first attempts to rest more deeply in God through meditation or contemplation. We discover that our mind wanders and our thoughts don't sit still. We find little joy at first.

This is normal. Some have a spontaneous gift of meditative prayer. Most do not.

Thomas Merton, in his book on Contemplative Prayer, encourages us in this:

Meditation is sometimes quite difficult. If we bear with hardship in prayer and wait patiently for the time of grace, we may well discover that meditation and prayer are very joyful experiences. We should not, however, judge the value of our meditation by "how we feel." A hard and apparently fruitless meditation may in fact be much more valuable than one that is easy, happy enlightened and apparently a big success.

There is a "movement" of meditation, expressing the basic "paschal" rhythm of the Christian life, the passage from death to life in Christ. Sometimes prayer, meditation and contemplation are "death"-- a kind of descent into our own nothingness, a recognition of helplessness, frustration, infidelity, confusion, ignorance. Note how common this theme is in the Psalms. If we need help in meditation we can turn to scriptural texts that express this profound distress of man in his nothingness and his total need of God. Then as we determine to face the hard realities of our inner life, as we recognize once again that we need to pray hard and humbly for faith, he draws us out of darkness into light--he hears us, answers our prayer, recognizes our need, and grants us the help we require--if only by giving us more faith to believe that he can and will help us in his own time. This is already a sufficient answer.

He goes on to say how valuable it is to walk through both the times of darkness as well as the times of light in prayer. Both are drawing us closer to a greater detachment from this world and an ability to rest in the reality of the Kingdom.

Ultimately we will find ourselves experience more abiding, enjoying, and living out of His presence. It's worth pressing through the initial discouragements that come!

(Feel free to post comments on this devotional blog, on your own daily devotion, on anything relating to contemplation, lectio divina, loving God.)

Isn't It a Relief

From the intro to Brother Lawrence's Practicing God's Presence:

Isn't it a relief

to discover we can talk to Our Father directly,

to discover that our thirsty hearts must no longer search; that what, so deep inside, seemed unquenchable, can be filled to overflowing and with grace abounding,

to know that God is not some future goal or past memory but a "right this second" presence,

to know that our simplicity and humility pleases God,

to know God is personal, real, abiding, and everlasting,

to know that God has a soft spot for great sinners and late bloomers,

to discover God never gives us more than He can handle,

to know nothing can prevent our conversing with God,

to know that, even if we quit Him, He never quits us,

to know that God never stops, never goes off duty, out to lunch, or out of business,

to know the only one we have to please is God,

to know He owns everything and all we need be is good stewards,

Isn't it a relief to hear His words, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

Belovedness

The inner journey is not only a journey into God's heart, it is also a journey into the full discovery of our own "belovedness." This is a healing journey.

As we grow closer to God we discover that we are loved, yet we continually hold back from fully embracing the measure of "belovedness" that is ours.

John was known for having caught hold of this revelation, calling himself "John the beloved." In essence, "I'm the one that God loves." What an awesome internalization of truth. "Not only does God love me, but my heart has so received this truth that I am able to walk in my true identity: the one who is beloved of God."

Knowing that God loves me is a starting point, but the real transformation takes place (as it did with John) when my heart embraces the truth of who I am. At my very essence, I am the one whom God looks at with longing and desire, whom God is in love with, who causes Him to exclaim: You are my beloved. When I internalize this, it becomes about who I know myself to be and who I really am. I am the beloved one.

The journey toward our "belovedness" however is not an easy one. It's not enough to just proclaim the truth over ourselves: I am the beloved one. Though, this certainly can't hurt. The challenge goes deeper, however. Hidden within the many crevices of our soul are the many wounds and lies that have formed deep within us that contradict our belovedness. We have often built layer upon layer around these wounds and lies in an attempt to bury them deeply, but we are still living out of those inner untruths, such as: I am not worth anything; I am less-than; I am a failure; I am unlovable; I am guilty; I am, I am, I am. These are difficult untruths to get at because they are both painful and often covered up deeply. Yet they battle against the very reality of who we really are in Christ. They keep us from fully embracing, at a heart level, our belovedness.

Only the truth of God's fiery, passionate love can give us the courage to dig into the buried places and face the pain and the untruths that have captivated us. Ultimately, the inner journey is a healing journey. As we draw nearer and nearer to His love, we are able to more fully open up every crevice of our soul and let the healing power, forgiving power, and loving power transform every part.

As we continue to draw nearer to Him, I want to remember that He can and will transform whatever I will open to Him. It takes courage on my part to open up to Him more fully. So I remind myself that He is transforming me so that I can fully walk in, embrace, and enjoy who I am: one most beloved.

The Silent Thank You

This quote (from the intro to Brother Lawrence's Practicing God's Presence) has really challenged my spirit today. Perhaps we can comment more on it later, but it's a longer quote, so here it is:

The Silent 'Thank You, Father'

"Please give Him thanks with me for His great goodness which I can never sufficiently express, and for the many favors He has done to so miserable a sinner as I am. May all things praise Him. Amen."
... Brother Lawrence

1. The most powerful expression of practicing God's presence is The Silent 'Thank You, Father'. These three words are the very essence of the holy habit. This phrase is the secret to living on earth and in heaven in continual conversation with God. It can start us and keep us moving forward on the path of practicing God's presence -no matter what.

The Silent 'Thank You, Father', is voiced from the heart. We repeat it inwardly at all times and in all circumstances -no matter what. In this way, The Silent 'Thank You, Father' brings us into instant awareness and communion with God.

We learn from Brother Lawrence that the things necessary for the practice of the presence of God are love, humility, simplicity, and faith. Contained within the three words, 'Thank You, Father', is a complete expression of these four necessary things: love, humility, simplicity, and faith. When silently spoken at all times and in all circumstances -no matter what, 'Thank You, Father' expresses our accord with His good pleasure, His holy will.

2. The Silent 'Thank You, Father' is a full expression of our love because gratitude is our most natural way of appreciating love bestowed. When we love and love deeply, we cannot help but say 'Thank You' over and over again. When we love and love deeply, we cannot say it enough.

Sometimes we feel the bittersweet ache that comes from knowing that even these words, 'Thank You, Father', are inadequate in expressing our gratitude for His presence.

The Silent 'Thank You, Father' is a full expression of humility because, when silently spoken in all circumstances -no matter what, we tell Our Father that His will be done. Despite outward appearances to our weak and limited vision, we acknowledge that He knows best and it is good!

The Silent 'Thank You, Father' is a full expression of simplicity because these three words, and these three words alone, are enough. The phrase is complete and says all we can utter in word or thought.

We must resist every impulse to add even one more word. Why? That one more word will most often be the word for or because. As soon as we add one more word, 'Thank You, Father for' or 'Thank You, Father because', we immediately diminish the offering by applying our faulty and imperfect judgment. We thank Him, simply, for everything -no matter what.

It is helpful to think of this expression as a 'thank you gift' we can give to God. How easy and natural it is to say 'Thank you' when we are pleased. The 'thank you gift' is given almost instinctively. How difficult and unnatural to say 'Thank you' when we are displeased, offended, or hurt. Yet one 'thank you gift' given at such a time is worth more to Our Father than many 'thank you gifts' given when we are pleased.

The Silent 'Thank You, Father' is a full expression of faith because trust in Our Lord is the very foundation of living in God's presence. One of the words most often used by Brother Lawrence is the word trust. We can only believe what, in our hearts, we know to be true.

Upside Down Kingdom

From Thomas a Kempis:

For a certain man by loving Me intimately learned divine truths and spoke wonders. He profited more by leaving all things than by studying subtle questions.

How much is available to me through simply loving God intimately? Really, truly everything?

I seem to believe otherwise if my actions and attitudes are a reflection of what I really believe.

I seem to believe that if I want to learn divine truths then I must primarily use my intellect and reasoning and self-effort. I seem to believe that if I want people and projects to "work out," then I must engage my own plans, schemes, and obsessive energy. I seem to believe that if I expect to have anything then I better learn how to hang on to things and "be productive" with those things.

Just how upside down is God's Kingdom anyway? I know what Jesus says: seek first the Kingdom (i.e. my relationship with the King) first and "all these things" will be added. But, that little voice inside whines, does this really work? Is there really more profit in leaving all things and loving God intimately than in "making things happen?" Won't I surely miss out? And how far does one carry this?

I do know that there are people who are constantly teetering on the edge of irresponsibility: not carrying their normal end of things and just expecting it all to work out. I suppose, in many ways, I can't really speak to their issues. For some reason I'm always teetering on the other side of the spectrum: carrying all things myself and wondering where God is in it all.

So, for me, I need the reminder that it really is all about one thing--just one thing--the pursuit of intimacy with God. He really does promise to be fully and thoroughly involved with every area of my life as I give myself to a simple love relationship with Him. I really will have the intuitive answers I need, not because I studied hard enough, but because God, as I draw near Him, provides wisdom, insight, and direction.

(Feel free to post comments on this devotional blog, on your own daily devotion, on anything relating to contemplation, lectio divina, loving God.)

Plain Talk With God

Here is some more from the intro to Brother Lawrence's Practicing the Presence of God:

"If, in this life, we might enjoy the peace of paradise, we must accustom ourselves to a familiar, humble, and affectionate conversation with God." ... Brother Lawrence

God created us that we might discover and enjoy the kingdom of His presence on earth as it is in heaven. We do this through the practice of the presence of God, what Brother Lawrence, in the seventeenth century, called establishing the holy habit.

To become established in the practice of the presence of God we need to acquire new habits. We do this by developing a personal relationship with Our Father through constant communion with Him.

As we begin to form a habit of engaging in a silent conversation of the heart with God, it is most helpful to use some of the beautiful existing prayers. The Lord's Prayer is the perfect model for all our conversation with Our Father. Though we need not use 'Thy' and 'Thou' in our ongoing conversation, from formal prayer we learn to appreciate how these words reflect special honor and respect for God.

When we continually converse with God throughout the day by using simple and honest words, our talk becomes prayerful in that we speak to Our Father in a way that acknowledges that He, Our Creator, knows us better than we know ourselves.

In a letter, Brother Lawrence wrote: "Gradually become accustomed to worship Him in this way: to beg His grace, to offer Him your heart from time to time, even every moment if you can. Act in faith with love and humility."

The key to our constant communion with God, then, is love and humility. These come naturally as we become established in practicing God's presence. All we need to do is read the following comment to see the result of our acquiring the holy habit:

"Brother Lawrence said that the worst that could happen to him was to lose that sense of God which he had enjoyed so long. Yet the goodness of God assured him He would not forsake him and that God would give him strength to bear whatever evil He permitted to happen to him."

What more could we possibly have in this life? Dear One, this is the very real blessing and assurance we enjoy in practicing the presence of God.

RSS Feeds

CNN ran an article this past week describing how blogging and, in particular, RSS feeds are going to change the way that we surf the web. The article says:

If I'm saying the Web is changing and that you'd better get on board or miss out, I'd better be prepared to back it up. I believe I can.

If you like reading blogs and/or want to see how we will be surfing the web in the future, take a look at the article.