" It is the union with God in a darkness where nothing is seen or understood, that is the source of the mysterious love which is the life blood of Christianity. It is in the darkness of faith that the soul is united to Christ, and in this darkness the Holy Spirit, like an inexhaustible spring of living water, irrigates the dry wastes of the soul that is exhausted by attachment to the things of sense. This living water revives the soul and makes it capable of a love and compassion which are the most powerful of all spiritual forces because they are the power of God Himself in us: and God is Love."
~Thomas Merton, A Life in Letters, p. 186
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for your mercy and grace. For Your Son that suffered so that we might live in eternal union with You. Thank You for the opportunity we all have of repentence. Forgive us of our sins, for times when we let the world come first. We love You and praise You.
May we find the time to empty ourselves of our egos and attachments, of all things, and reach towards Your holy throne. May we give You all that we have, so that you may fill us with Your presence, restoring, refreshing and renewing us. Equipping us with strength to carry out Your will and bring You unspeakable glory. In the darkness of silence, wrap us in Your light. In our chosen emptiness, fill us with Your love. May we take that love and cast it boldly into a world that thirsts for it.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.
Amen.
And I share this prayer with all as it was shared with me from Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
ReplyDeleteEph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, ..."
Have a great day!
Amen! Thank you so much for the verses.
ReplyDelete~many blessings,
Jessica
Wow, this is really amazing. I can use both the words of Thomas Merton and your prayer as a great way to start my class. I bet my students would love to hear something like this for our theology class! :D
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked it!!
ReplyDelete~many blessings,
Jessica
Justin,
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I really enjoy your blog...added it to my blog roll on the right hand column of my main page. :) Your students are blessed to have you! I'm honored, by the way, that you would use my post :)
~blessings,
jessica
Jessica, your prayers bless.
ReplyDeleteYour quotes by Christian mystics are wonderful seeds of contemplation. Just enough seed at the moment to ponder and treasure up in the heart here. Too much and the hungry reader will disappear. Yours is measured in just the right amount:)
I've shared your site with non-bloggers in the hope that they will be feed as well.
Debra,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your encouraging comments :) Thank you for sharing this site with others...I pray it will be a forum in which we can all grow deeper in God.
Your blog is exceptional and I enjoy visiting it...I included it in my blogroll on the right hand column of the main page for this blog. You have beautiful insights and prayers too :)
~Blessings,
Jessica