Inner Journey Blog

Prayer of the Heart

More Thomas Merton on Contemplative Prayer:

In the "prayer of the heart" we seek first of all the deepest ground of our identity in God. We do not reason about dogmas of faith, or "the mysteries." We seek rather to gain a direct existential grasp, a personal experience of the deepest truths of life and faith, finding ourselves in God's truth. Inner certainty depends on purification. The dark night rectifies our deepest intentions. In the silence of this "night of faith" we return to simplicity and sincerity of heart. We learn recollection which consists in listening for God's will, in direct and simple attention to reality. Recollection is awareness of the unconditional. Prayer then means yearning for the simple presence of God, for a personal understanding of his word, for knowledge of his will and for capacity to hear and obey him. It is thus something much more than uttering petitions for good things external to our own deepest concerns...

We wish to lose ourselves in his love and rest in him.

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.

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."

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.