Morning Prayer

I received two books on prayer for Christmas. The first is Beth Moore's Praying God's Word and the other is Henri Nouwen's Book of Hours. Both have deeply impacted me and affected me so far. I have SO much more to share about the first book, if I can find time to sit and process it all a bit. But I wanted to share a bit of the second book this morning that helped shift my mind a little more towards Jesus as I am beginning this day.

My boys are notorious early risers and I have been trying to get up before them to have some quiet time to think and pray. So far it isn't working (more on that sometime soon too) so I am having to be a little creative to get my time alone. This morning, Lucas woke me up around 530 by climbing into my bed and waking Caden up (who was sleeping next to me). I was annoyed and agitated and felt myself starting the day on the wrong foot. So after breakfast, I sent the boys to play in the basement for a few minutes so I could drink my tea and spend some time being quiet. The concept of the book of hours is not new or unique to Henri Nouwen. It is a compilation of prayers and scriptures to be meditated on throughout the day, to keep our hearts focused on God. The passages I read this morning really hit me. And maybe they will speak to you too.

"When Jesus says: 'Make you home in me as I make mine in you,' he offers us an intimate place that we can truly call 'home.' Home is that place or space where we do not have to be afraid but can let go our defenses and be free, free from worries, free from tensions, free from pressures. Home is where we can laugh and cry, embrace and dance, sleep long and dream quietly, eat, read, play, watch the fire, listen to music, and be with a friend. Home is where we can rest and be healed."

"The spiritual life is not life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys or the here and now. Therefore, we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year, in order to become more fully aware of our hunger for the spirit. As long as we have only a vague inner feeling of discontent with our present way of living, and only an indefinite desire for 'things spiritual,' our lives will continue to stagnate in a generalized melancholy." (OUCH)

I think I needed to read both those things this morning. God is definitely working on my soul. I was challenged by my prayer partner to pray about picking one word, a word that I could I could pray for myself for the coming year. Hers is "hunger," as in she wants to long for God in a way that is vital to her body with that hint of desperation. I am not sure what my word is yet, but I think God is pushing me towards something new this year. And it is starting with these two books that are teaching me how to see myself more clearly through His eyes and then see beyond myself and keep my eyes more firmly planted on Him.



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