Quote

“Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of  Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help. We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks at the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers.” -Paul E. Miller in The Praying Life quoted by Revive Magazine.

Praying Without Ceasing

My family has never outgrown read-aloud time. Even though most of my kids are grown (the youngest is in high school), we still read books together. We have recently finished a Chaucer-reading era and have now launched into C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia for old-time’s sake.

Reading the Chronicles again, with Aslan the Lion and adventures of the Kingdom of Narnia reminds me of C. S. “Jack” Lewis’ deep faith. He was a man of prayer.

Here is what his step-son, Douglas Gresham said about him:

“I don’t know what he prayed, but it was not uncommon for me to walk into a room and to find Jack praying. And I would say, ‘I’m so sorry, Jack,” and he would say, ‘Don’t worry, I was only praying’. I saw Jack sitting at a desk in prayer. I saw Jack walking in prayer. I could tell if Jack was praying if he was walking around the garden or walking up in the woods or sitting at his desk, but I can’t tell you how I could tell. It was just something I knew. He didn’t ostentatiously get down on his knees or put his hands together in front of his face and so forth.”

His assistant, Walter Hooper, said about Lewis, “I don’t think I ever came across a person who prayed so much. Often in the morning he would get up, go outside to look at the flowers, and stand right there praying…He could pray anywhere…In a train, on a bus, on a walk, or just standing outside. And he prayed on his knees, too, beside his bed.”

(quoted from: The Magic Never Ends- John Duncan)

Lewis prayed at in many times and many places. Perhaps for him that was “praying without ceasing”.

What would prayer without ceasing look like for you?

A Psalm for Summer

7:00 am

Gray mist looms over corn and fallow field

Atmosphere crouches:

thick with heat

Yet His Golden Radiance perforates:

ubiquitous, unruffled

Sparkling up dewy weeds:

fields of sapphire, topaz, and diamond

Wrens are trilling call-and-response:

a liturgy of praise

God is in His Heaven

He is what is right in the world.