Buechner: keeping silence

Saturday, July 22, 2023
    Feast of Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles
Meditation:
    Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.
    —Zephaniah 1:7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort... than being able from time to time to stop that chatter including the chatter of spoken prayer. If we choose to seek the silence of the holy place, or to open ourselves to its seeking, I think there is no surer way than by keeping silent.
    ... Frederick Buechner (1926-2022), Telling Secrets, HarperSanFrancisco, 1991, p. 105 (see the book)
    See also Zeph. 1:7; Deut. 27:9-10; Ps. 4:4; 46:10; Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13; Luke 4:33-35; Rom. 9:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, still the voice of my vanity within. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ellul: prayer is a miracle

Friday, July 21, 2023
Meditation:
    ... pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire...
    —1 Thessalonians 5:17-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Prayer is not a means of laying hold of God; that prayer precisely is not made possible by a system, but, rather, by a free decision of grace on the part of the one who wills indeed to listen; that prayer precisely is not addressed to one who dwells at a distance, but is addressed to one who comes very close (even into our hearts!); that prayer precisely is a miracle and not a technical procedure.
    ... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), Prayer and Modern Man, New York: The Seabury Press, 1973, p. 9 (see the book)
    See also 1 Thess. 5:17-19; Eccl. 5:2; Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 18:13; Heb. 10:22-23
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, prayer is Your instrument. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bonhoeffer: each his own cross

Thursday, July 20, 2023
    Commemoration of Bartolomè de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
    —Luke 14:27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The cross is there, right from the beginning, he has only got to pick it up; there is no need for him to go out and look for a cross for himself, no need for him deliberately to run after suffering. Jesus says that every Christian has his own cross waiting for him, a cross destined and appointed by God. Each must endure his allotted share of suffering and rejection.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship, Simon and Schuster, 1959, p. 89 (see the book)
    See also Luke 14:27; Matt. 5:10-12; 10:37-39; 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:23-25; John 15:19-21; 16:33; 1 Thess. 3:4; 2 Tim. 3:12-13; 1 Pet. 2:20-21; Rev. 7:13-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I can prevail only in Your strength. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Law: God the only standard

Wednesday, July 19, 2023
    Feast of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, & his sister Macrina, Teachers, c.394 & c.379
Meditation:
    Going a little farther, [Jesus] fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
    —Matthew 26:39 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We readily acknowledge, that God alone is to be the rule and measure of our prayers, that in them we are to look wholly unto Him, and act wholly for Him, that we are only to pray in such a manner, for such things, and such ends, as are suitable to His glory.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 2 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 26:39; Ps. 40:8; Matt. 6:10; 26:42; Mark 3:35; John 4:34; Rom. 12:2; Col. 1:13-14; 1 Thess. 5:17-18; Heb. 10:36; 1 Pet. 2:15; 4:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may I ever pray for Your will to be done. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hallesby: an attitude

Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Meditation:
I cried out to God for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    at night I stretched out untiring hands
    and my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
    I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
    —Psalm 77:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Prayer is something deeper than words. It is present in the soul before it has been formulated into words. And it abides in the soul after the last words of prayer have passed over our lips.
    Prayer is an attitude of our hearts, an attitude of mind. Prayer is a definite attitude of our hearts toward God, an attitude which He in heaven immediately recognizes as prayer, as an appeal to His heart. Whether it takes the form of words or not, does not mean anything to God, only to ourselves.
    ... O. Hallesby (1879-1961), Prayer, London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1943, reprint, Augsburg Fortress Books, 1975, 1994, p. 16 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 77:1-3; 5:1; 10:17-18; 42:1-2; 69:3; 88:1-2; Isa. 26:16; Matt. 6:8; Luke 22:44; Rom. 8:15,26-27; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; Heb. 5:7; Jude 1:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant within me an attitude of prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Cowper: Jesus! where'er thy people meet

Monday, July 17, 2023
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
    —John 10:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
Jesus! where’er thy people meet,
There they behold thy mercy-seat;
Where’er they seek thee, thou art found,
And every place is hallow’d ground.

Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few!
Thy former mercies here renew;
Here to our waiting hearts proclaim
The sweetness of thy saving name.
    ... William Cowper (1731-1800), The Works of William Cowper: his life, letters, and poems, New York: R. Carter & Brothers, 1851, p. 676 (see the book)
    See also John 10:11-15; Ex. 3:5; 25:17-18; Ps. 85:6; Matt. 18:20; Rom. 9:15-16; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Heb. 10:25; Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 2:9-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, renew us once more.

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Pascal: humble, without despair

Sunday, July 16, 2023
    Commemoration of Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, 1099
Meditation:
    Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
    —Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Jesus Christ is a God whom we approach without pride, and before whom we humble ourselves without despair.
    ... Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensées (Thoughts) [1660], P.F. Collier & Son, 1910, #528, p. 173 (see the book)
    See also Heb. 10:19-22; Ps. 118:22,23; Isa. 65:6-7; Matt. 7:7-11; 9:20-22; Luke 7:37-48; Rom. 8:15-17; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Eph. 3:12; Heb. 4:16; 1 Pet. 2:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your grace upholds me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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