Prayer – 10th Anniversary Edition

To the outward eye everything looks barren and unsightly. Our many defects, flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections stand out in bold relief. But only the outward virtues have collapsed; the principle of virtue is actually being strengthened. The soul is venturing forth into the interior. Real, solid, enduring virtues begin to develop deep within. Pure love is being birthed.

So, as you read these words, yield yourself into the loving hands of the Master Potter. Do not be afraid. He will not “break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick,” as Scripture says (Matt. 12:20). He never steps on the weak, never snuffs out the smallest hope. Allow his hand to rest upon yours and guide you. Become weak, frail, vulnerable. Now listen to the voice of the true Shepherd and learn from him.

Dear Lord Jesus, in my better moments I want nothing more than to be like you. But there are other moments…. Help me to see how good conformity to your way really is. In my seeking for you may I be found by you. I love you, Lord. —Amen.

Picture a child with a pencil in hand making indecipherable scribbles on a piece of paper. Now watch his mother place her hand over her child’s and guide it on the page, making big beautiful letters. This is the prayer of docility.

It is the experience of being “completely supple, completely transparent, completely abandoned in the hands of God.”

In time, however, we find that solitude gives us power not to win the rat race but to ignore the rat race altogether. Slowly, we find ourselves letting go of our inner compulsions to acquire more wealth than we need, look more youthful than we are, attain more status than is wise. In the stillness, our false, busy selves are unmasked and seen for the imposters they truly are.

Have a constant reverence for God before our eyes; reject our own will and desires and, instead, do God’s will; confess all of our evil thoughts and all of our evil actions to the Lord.”

Humility is, in fact, filled with power to bring forth life. The word itself comes from the Latin humus, which means fertile ground.

Put in simple terms, humility means to live as close to the truth as possible

The third major area is the patient endurance God develops in us by means of the various frustrations, trials, and temptations we face daily.