Does A Book On Prayer Become Outdated?

Does A Book On Prayer Become Outdated?

About 25 years ago I compiled a book called Praying: One Day At A Time to bring prayer into greater focus in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It was used for personal and small group purposes to help teach people to pray. When I recently mentioned to a friend that it is now outdated, she said: “How can a book on prayer become outdated?” What a great question for contemplation. In my reflections this morning, this is what I’ve come up with.

Quiet Moments

I Shall Pass This Way But Once . . .

I shall pass this way but once.
Therefore, any good that I can do
or any kindness that I can show,
let me do it now,  for I shall not pass
this way again.

~  Etienne de Grellet  (1773-1855)  Quaker Missionary

He Comes To Us As One Unknown

He comes to us as one unknown,
a breath unseen, unheard;
as though within a heart of stone,
or shriveled seed in darkness sown,
a pulse of being stirred,
a pulse of being stirred.

A Butterfly Moment

A Butterfly moment –
gentle grace
upon the wind,
catching sunlight,
dancing joy,
resting lightly –
then off
in delight.

  ~  Anna Lin

I Speak To You Continually

I speak to you continually. My nature is to communicate, though not always in words.
I fling glorious sunsets across the sky, day after day after day. I speak in the faces and
voices of loved ones. I caress you with a gentle breeze that refreshes and delights you.
I speak softly in the depths of your spirit, where I have taken up residence.

You can find Me in each moment, when you have eyes that see and ears that hear.
Ask My Spirit to sharpen your spiritual eyesight and hearing. I rejoice each time you
discover My Presence. Practice looking and listening for Me during quiet intervals.
Gradually you will find Me in more and more of your moments. You will seek Me and
find Me, when you seek Me above all else.

~ Sarah Young, in Jesus Calling

Summer Songs

A Summer Prayer

The summer day is filled with sounds of life.
I add my voice to them with a song of gratitude and love.
The earth is traveling on a threefold mystical journey, as it whirls in the dance of day and night and makes its annual pilgrimage around the source of its life, the sun, and moves outward into boundless space. I too am traveling this day on my pilgrim’s path. I pause to remember who I am and how I can respond to you, my God.
I want to walk in the way that heals and restores my body and freshens my soul.
Help me to see your presence in all of life.

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