Auden: becoming prayer

Saturday, February 28, 2015
Meditation:
    And [Jesus] went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
    —Matthew 26:39 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Our wishes and desires—to pass an exam, to marry the person we love, to sell our house at a good price—are involuntary and, therefore, not in themselves prayers. They only become prayers when addressed to a God whom we believe to know better than ourselves whether we should be granted or denied what we ask. A petition does not become a prayer unless it ends with the words, spoken or unspoken, “nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt.”
    ... W. H. Auden (1907-1973), A Certain World, London: Faber and Faber, 1971, p. 307 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 26:39,42; 6:10; John 6:38; Rom. 12:2; 15:3; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 10:7; 1 Pet. 4:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may my speech become true prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Herbert: What Adam had

Friday, February 27, 2015
    Feast of George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633
Meditation:
    For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
    —Colossians 3:3 (NIV)
Quotation:
What Adam had, and forfeited for all,
Christ keepeth now, who cannot fail or fall.
    ... George Herbert (1593-1633), The Poetical Works of George Herbert, New York: D. Appleton, 1857, p. 182 (see the book)
    See also Col. 3:3; Matt. 11:25; Rom. 5:12-14; 1 Cor. 2:14-15; 15:22,45-49; Col. 2:2-3; 1 John 3:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, in You is my trust. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Pusey: still, small Voice

Thursday, February 26, 2015
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”
    
    —John 5:44 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is much, yea, it is everything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to drown His Voice... It is a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still small voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill our ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or show, its rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses? A loud voice will often not reach an occupied heart. The Voice of the Son of God in the flesh, though it waked Lazarus from the dead, reached not those whose ears and minds were filled with the love of the praise of men.
    ... Edward B. Pusey (1800-1882), Parochial Sermons, v. II, London: Rivingtons, 1868, p. 247 (see the book)
    See also John 5:44; 1 Kings 19:12; Ps. 25:14; Eze. 2:7; Matt. 23:5-7; Luke 16:15; John 5:41; 11:43; 12:43; 1 Thess. 2:6
Quiet time reflection:
    Speak, Lord, for I am listening. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Kates: lifting a hand in prayer

Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Meditation:
    I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone...
    —1 Timothy 2:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In our praying, we should speak to God about Himself—that is praise; about His gifts—that is thanksgiving; about other people—that is intercession; about our sins—that is confession and penitence; about our needs—that is petition. Prayer has five fingers, like a hand, and each in turn must be pointed to God, that our prayer may be full and complete.
    ... Frederick Ward Kates (1910-1987), A Moment Between Two Eternities, New York: Harper & Row, 1965, p. 86 (see the book)
    See also 1 Tim. 2:1,8; 1 Pet. 2:9; Jas. 5:16; Jude 1:24; Rev. 14:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I lift my hands to you in prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

MacDonald: patience

Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.”
    —Luke 21:17-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    One of the principal parts of faith is patience.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Weighed and Wanting, Boston: D. Lothrop and Company, 1882, p. 542 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 37:7-9; 40:1-2; Luke 8:15; 21:17-19; Rom. 2:7; 8:25; 1 Cor. 13:4-5; Heb. 12:1; Jas. 1:3-4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant me the patience to wait upon You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Polycarp: hold on to the hope

Monday, February 23, 2015
    Feast of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c.155
Meditation:
    Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
    —1 John 2:6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Let us therefore without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, but for our sakes He endured all things, that we might live in Him. Let us therefore become imitators of His endurance; and if we should suffer for His name’s sake, let us glorify Him. For He gave this example to us in His own person, and we believed this.
    ... Polycarp (69?-155?), Letter to the Philippians A.D. 110-140, 8:1-2 (see the book)
    See also 1 Chr. 16:11; Job 17:9; Ps. 37:23-24; 138:8; Hos. 12:6; Matt. 10:22; 24:12-13; Mark 13:13; John 13:15; Rom. 2:7; Eph. 5:1-2; Col. 2:6-7; 1 John 2:6; 1 Pet. 2:21-24
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, strengthen me so that I may follow Your example. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt

Palau: no separation

Sunday, February 22, 2015
Meditation:
    Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
    —2 Corinthians 1:3-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No matter how great our burdens or how deep our pain, God is able to comfort us. No matter how severe the pressures of daily life, they can’t separate us from the tenderness and compassion of our Heavenly Father.
    ... Luis Palau (b. 1934), Time to Stop Pretending, with Stephen and Amanda Sorenson, Victor Books, 1985, p. 20 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 1:3-6; Ps. 40:1-3; 116:3-7; 126:5-6; Isa. 25:8; 35:10; 57:18-19; Matt. 5:4; Luke 6:21; John 16:20-22; Rev. 21:4
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your compassion is endless. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt