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Teach Us To Pray

Pray with simplicity

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray

As humans, we overcomplicate things. There is richness in the simple things, when we focus and go deeper within the meaning. Matthew 6:5-14 from The Message is our prayer of simplicity today:

And when you come before, God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for 15 minutes of fame! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

Here’s what I want you to do: find a quiet, secluded place, so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply, and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer ignorant. They are full of formulas and programs and advice, pedaling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God, like this loving you, you can pray very simply like this:

Our Father, in heaven, 

reveal who you are. 

Set the world, right; 

do what’s best – as above, so below. 

Keep us alive with three square meals. 

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 

Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil. 

You’re in charge! 

You can do anything you want! 

You’re a blazing beauty! 

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Amen

Teach Us To Pray

If Only We Can Be Still

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray

When we take the time daily to meditate on the goodness of Jesus, it becomes so much easier to be who He desires us to be. We begin to realize that everything He asks of us is for our own good.

But first, we have to be still in order to know.

Be still and know I am God. Psalm 46:10

Lord, help me be still. Help me know that You are God. Let me be still, calm, peaceful, and open to Your presence.

Teach Us To Pray

A Simple Prayer

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray

When I first found myself being drawn into a deeper spiritual relationship with my Creator, there were many time when I would sit and contemplate scripture. Psalm 25 turned into a constant prayer for me and to this day I still say it often as I need the Lord to “make” me lose my self-sufficiency.

Lord, make me know your ways. 

Lord, teach me your paths.

Make me walk in your truth and teach me.

For you are God my savior.

Psalm 25

Amen

Teach Us To Pray

How To Pray

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray.

Sometimes we struggle knowing how to pray. I hope the following wise words give you permission to let go and just be with God.

Remain at rest, in peace and truth, in the presence of our God. Force nothing. Do not aim to make any thoughts and resolutions. Be in God‘s presence as a child with their parent. Think of yourself as belonging to God that God may do with you whatever God pleases. Avoid a lot of words. Separate yourself from all things and direct your gaze at God. Be content to look at our God to whom you belong.

Venerable Francis Lieberman, C.S.Sp.
Teach Us To Pray

Teach Us To Pray

Smitten With Goodness
Teach us to pray.

This year’s theme for Smitten with Goodness is prayer. In the previous post, Prayer is Allowing God to Love You, there are many ways we can connect with God. Sometimes we need to slow down and go back to the basics. This helps us to open our minds and hearts to God. 

In Matthew 6:9-15, Jesus teaches us how to pray. Focusing on the Our Father, presents us with a great opportunity to go back to the basics of prayer. Meditating on this prayer allows us to open our minds and hearts and be in communion with God.

Our Father, 
Who art in Heaven, 
hallowed be Thy name; 
Thy Kingdom come, 
Thy will be done 
on earth as it is in Heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread; 
and forgive us our trespasses 
as we forgive those who trespass against us; 
and lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 
Amen.

If the Gospel is a message of Joy, then it is one we should be eager to pursue. We can do this by diving into a deeper, prayerful encounter with Jesus Christ this year. He will teach us to pray.

Inspiration

A Pledge of Peace

Smitten With Goodness
Poem by Jim Blackburn. Art by Scurry Chapman.

Its almost a new year a good to time to take stock of our lives. I hope you will take a few minutes after the busy holiday season to take a few moments to see what has worked for you and the areas where you might need improvement. One thing we can all integrate in our lives is peace. The work we do to bring our own peaceful heart to the world will sow many dividends. 

All of us have been wrestling with the hate in the world, and I would like to suggest that we take a stand for peace in the new year. We are not taught much about peace we are taught about war.  Sustainability is one of our premier global challenges and war is inimical to sustainability.  Peace is a part of a sustainable future.

Lets start a new conversation, a new direction , a new ethic, and peace might offer such an opportunity. Take in the words of poet and environmental attorney Jim Blackburn and artist Scurry Chapman as you find peace on your journey.

Peace

              Peace – an excellent state of being,

              Peace – a goal worth achieving,

              Peace – a faraway place

              Peace – let me argue its case.

              Peace – why is it so hard?

              Peace – no holds barred,

              Peace – put down the guns,

              Peace – let’s protect our sons.

              Peace – I love the idea,

              Peace –  but is it panacea?

              Peace – always out of reach,

              Peace – is it what we teach?

              Peace – between friend and foe,

              Peace – no war no mo

              Peace – I want it now

              Peace – but we don’t know how.

              Peace – should be in our books

              Peace – it gets many looks,

              Peace – will it come on my watch?

              Peace – It takes more than Scotch.

              Peace – we need to work today,

              Peace – we must find a way,

              Peace – oh such a dream,

              Peace – just watch me beam.

              Peace – between Jews and Palestinians

              Peace – between Pakistanis and Indians,

              Peace – between Republicans and Democrats

              Peace – between luddites and technocrats.

              Peace – for the sake of the Earth

              Peace – a value with worth,

              Peace – will the dream come true?

              Peace – it’s up to me and you.

              So welcome to Earth Church,

              Where doves land on your pew,

              And we take the pledge

              To bring peace to you. 

Inspiration

Peace: Interior Silence

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

A new year, a natural time for new beginnings. How about striving for a peaceful heart. With all the darkness of our world right now, will you let Christs light shine through you?

The Saints are good role models to help us sharpen our focus to whats truly important. St. Alphonsus Liguori gives us some good food for thought as we look forward to a fresh start of new beginnings.

“An excellent method of preserving interior silence is to keep exterior silence. . . even in the world, each one of us can make his own solitude, a boundary beyond which nothing can force its way unperceived. It is not noise in itself that is the difficulty, but noise that is pointless; it is not every conversation, but useless conversations; not all kinds of occupation, but aimless occupations. In point of fact, everything that does not serve some good purpose is harmful. It is foolish, nay, more, it is a betrayal to devote to a useless objective powers that can be given to what is essential. There are two ways of separating ourselves from almighty God, quite different from one another but both disastrous, although for different reasons: mortal sin and voluntary distractions—mortal sin, which objectively breaks off our union with God, and voluntary distractions, which subjectively interrupt or hinder our union from being as close as it ought to be. We should speak only when it is preferable not to keep silence. The Gospel does not say merely that we shall have to give an account of every evil word, but of every idle thought.”

Inspiration

Everyday Miracles

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

“If we do not risk anything for God we will never do anything great for Him.”
–St. Louis De Montfort

Recently I’ve risked being satisfied.

Savor was my focus word last year. A time where I slowed down enough to really, see, enjoy, taste, smell and touch what was before me. In essence I was practicing the sacrament of the present moment.

The stillness of the present moment is where we find God. It’s a place where we find joy, connection and be thankful. We are nourished and satisfied.

God revealed how in my striving and doing, I lost sight of satisfaction. Through my distrust, I turned to my will rather than His, where forcing my solutions rather than trusting and waiting on His became my norm. Like quicksand, the shaky ground I stood on was one of lack and scarcity. Through allowing God to heal my heart, I now realize I am standing on a solid foundation of trust and abundance.

What a gift this is to be satisfied and share my peaceful heart with others. It’s actually a miracle and Gods visible work today.

How will you risk growing with God this new year?

Inspiration

The Gift of Love

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living


The longer I live in the light of God’s holiness, the more I become aware of the subtle, deceptive sins of my heart, the nagging idolatries, and the places where I lack godly character. As I walk with the Lord, I become increasingly aware of the labyrinth pathways of sin that course through every area of my life.

I simply cannot stand before the searching light of the glory of God’s holiness with an open heart and walk away proud.

The longer this light shines on me, the louder my cry for grace grows. The longer I live in the presence of God’s holiness, the more I become aware of the depth and extent of my sin, the more I am dependent on God’s grace, and the more I am amazed by his patience.

How beautiful God designed it this way. Lifting the veil to my neediness. Bringing me to humility and my knees, turning me to right order my desires and give my gifts to my Savior, divine born man in the most humble way on Christmas Day.

Giving me, and us all, the gift of love.

Inspiration

Right Discernment

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

One of the side effects of living in a world of busyness, excess and noise is that we lose being attuned to proper discernment. If we have had a good Advent, preparing our hearts for Christmas, hopefully we have slowed down, started awakening to the Spirit and listening to Gods voice in a deeper way. Take a few moments to allow these words from Dr. Gregory Popcak, from Unworried, fill your mind and heart:

Movements of the spirit that enable us to experience more of God’s grace and love and enable us to become more of the person God wants us to be are “consolations.” Consolations represent the loving counsel of the Holy Spirit that draws us into deeper communion with God and helps us make choices that are consistent with becoming the whole, healed, godly, grace-filled person we are meant to be.

By contrast, desolations represent the counsel of an evil spirit attempting to pull us away from God or throwing up roadblocks to us cooperating with God’s grace to become the whole, healed, godly, grace-filled people we are meant to be.

Tuning in to consolation and desolation allows us to recognize where our thoughts are coming from.

We often take our thoughts for granted as coming from ourselves, but this is very often not true. It’s important to recognize when the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us something – and also when an evil spirit is whispering lies in our spiritual ear.