Prayer is the breath of the soul, the organ by which we receive Christ into our parched and withered hearts. As air enters in quietly when we breathe, and does its normal work in our lungs, so Jesus enters quietly into our hearts and does His blessed work there. Ole Hallesby, Prayer
Today, I choose to be still and sit with You in deep silence. My heart cannot but open when I am in this passive posture of prayer, creating a space Your Spirit cannot but pour through into my whole being.
The spiritual life is a gift. It is the gift of Your Holy Spirit Who lifts me up into the Kingdom of Love. Yours is never the voice of condemnation, rationalization, or fear. It is the voice of love and awakening freedom. It is accompanied by the deep inner burning of my heart’s recognition. I am seeking You, praying that You will answer. You are seeking me, praying that I will answer. I am disturbed, awakened, enlivened. Your voice ever so tenderly becomes my transforming flame, the fire within my burning heart.
It is to Mary, the mother of Jesus, that I look to understand how the human soul receives Your spirit. Her quiet yes mirrors the quiet yes I must make if I am to recognize your Spirit speaking to me. It is to Jesus in the wilderness that I look to understand my own struggle with the world’s brutal temptations and distractions. I struggle with the same temptations Jesus was confronted with—to be relevant, to be spectacular, and to be powerful. It was his obedient listening, his deep-rooted identity as Your beloved Son, and his discriminating choices that enabled him to overcome. I will find my way out of my own desert if I will trust my foundational identity as Your beloved child, attend to what goes on around me and within me, listen obediently for Your voice, and make discriminating choices.
There are times when a crossroad is reached, or a choice is called for. At times like these I need to pay very close attention on many levels: to consult your love letters in Scripture, to seek the advice of a trusted advisor, to heed the collective sense of the faithful, to read widely and deeply, and attend to the prick of my conscience as well as the yearnings of my heart. I will wait expectantly and pay close attention to the intuitive burnings of my heart, trusting always in your mercy. I know I do not sit with You alone, but in the company of heaven and all those I love enough to bring with me to Your table.
Your voice speaks often now and clear. You are the fire of silence seeking a soundless will. You are heaven happening when my soul is still. BWS The Hidden Life Awakened p.170