Silence, stillness and solitude-one of the great spiritual disciplines. To be alone with God is to taste with your lips, to touch with your heart, to see with your inner eyes the wonder that is God. Lift up your heart with love and seek God, just Him, and nothing else.
Prayer
“The richness of God’s word ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
I once thought of prayer as the thing you do when things went wrong, or I did something wrong. At another stage in my spiritual walk prayer was an activity where I sent my requests, my desires, my wants up to heaven’s door, and waited for “my” answer. Or praying for other people, particularly those in my family, who needed help, assistance, resources and money was an expectation during religious services, and specified times. Of course, prayer was encouraged as a spiritual discipline that one should practice on a daily basis to maintain a “right” relationship with God.
Over the years, I’ve learned through trial, and much error that prayer is and will always be divine communication with the Holy of Holies-with God. And that you don’t have to come with an agenda, or lists of people, issues, or circumstances needing prayer. One just has to come seeking to spend time with God.Prayer is sharing your concerns, and desires, yes but it is so much more. It is filling your mind, your spirit, your soul with God. It is being in His presence, sensing and hearing from Him. And yes, it is also about the people, places, and things which concern us. But more importantly, our prayer life is our Spirit Life. It is a sacred, intimate discussion with the One person who is so wonderful, so marvelous that you want to the spend time with him in prayer.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote brilliantly when he said that richness of God’s word should determine the length, breadth and depth of our prayer and not external matters. Prayers built on the reality of the truth of God’s word and divine work gives a fuller meaning our time with God, because we pray out of love and gratitude, and not despair.
Walk Worthy
Excellence is defined as the quality or state of being outstanding and superior, or an outstanding feature: a feature or respect in which somebody or something is superior and outstanding. Some say we know it[excellence] when we see it. It is a quality or characteristic no one or nothing else possess. We call it rare-superior-unique-above all the rest. Our Lord and Savior was given to us as an example of excellence-perfection in both man and God. And he calls us to demonstrate excellence in our walk, in our work, and in our worship. Just as He walked down that narrow street to Calvary he expects us to carry ourselves in a manner befitting the King of Kings.
Colossians 1: 9-14
“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Via Dolorosa
As Resurrection Sunday approaches, let us not forget the price paid, the manner in which it was paid, and recommit ourselves to walk worthy of Christ the King.
Loving God with Excellence 