Like anything worthwhile, deep personal prayer comes at a cost, substantial personal sacrifice. It involves eliminating major personal habits of selfishness. Many of these negative behaviors are hidden beyond our awareness. Deep personal prayer raises them to consciousness. A choice has to be made. It is like the parable of the Sower. Our life presents to the seed several different destinations: the rocky ground, the busy path, the thorns, or the rich soil. These negative options for the seed are possible because of our attachments and addictions, the attraction of the dark side of our culture and the overriding demand to consume more. In addition, we need address our social reality driven by racism, sexism, classism and seemingly countless other expressions of division and hostility. The rich soil is possible as a choice only if we deny these negative forces that are so intense and immediate. If we are to produce the abundant fruit available in the rich soil that comes from deep personal prayer, we need to forsake the steady demands of the ego. Jesus declared this truth in harsh clarity: to save our life we need to lose our life. (Mt 10:39)
In the battlefield that is the human heart, sooner than later, our efforts at deep personal prayer make us aware of the cost inherent in beginning the search for God. This exploration is both serious and truly challenging.
At the same time, the movement of God’s grace, like a silent whisper in the depths of our heart, beckons us to encounter the reality of love that is God. No matter how soft, no matter how gentle, this call to love by a patient but unyielding God, will not go away. Often, this voice of God arises to a point of clarity only in the pain and anguish or even in the debris of life.
This is the troublesome condition of the human heart in its most authentic pursuit of what is real. The central struggle is between oneself as the point of emphasis or God as the central focus. Deep personal prayer leads us to the choice that promises life, freedom and all manner of love that is God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Only in faithfulness to this search for our deepest truth do we learn that God is our partner in the human venture. Likewise, it is God’s loving compassion that pursues us every moment in our life. God delights in loving us with an everlasting passionate love. This Hound of Heaven embraces us as we are in all our brokenness and misguided ambitions of grandiosity.
For most of us, most of the time, love for God remains a tiny hidden spark longing to become a consuming flame. However, our continuous search for happiness in the wrong places darkens or even blinds us to this divine treasure. Much more often than not, we turn to God only as we need help in our agenda seeking what we think we need to be happy. Our involvement with God is mostly about our self-perceived program. This is the basis of our frustration in life. This misdirection is a barrier for a life of deep personal prayer. This is the adjustment we need: to take the spotlight off ourselves and put it on God. This is the goal of deep personal prayer.
In the battlefield that is the human heart, sooner than later, our efforts at deep personal prayer make us aware of the cost inherent in beginning the search for God. This exploration is both serious and truly challenging.
At the same time, the movement of God’s grace, like a silent whisper in the depths of our heart, beckons us to encounter the reality of love that is God. No matter how soft, no matter how gentle, this call to love by a patient but unyielding God, will not go away. Often, this voice of God arises to a point of clarity only in the pain and anguish or even in the debris of life.
This is the troublesome condition of the human heart in its most authentic pursuit of what is real. The central struggle is between oneself as the point of emphasis or God as the central focus. Deep personal prayer leads us to the choice that promises life, freedom and all manner of love that is God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Only in faithfulness to this search for our deepest truth do we learn that God is our partner in the human venture. Likewise, it is God’s loving compassion that pursues us every moment in our life. God delights in loving us with an everlasting passionate love. This Hound of Heaven embraces us as we are in all our brokenness and misguided ambitions of grandiosity.
For most of us, most of the time, love for God remains a tiny hidden spark longing to become a consuming flame. However, our continuous search for happiness in the wrong places darkens or even blinds us to this divine treasure. Much more often than not, we turn to God only as we need help in our agenda seeking what we think we need to be happy. Our involvement with God is mostly about our self-perceived program. This is the basis of our frustration in life. This misdirection is a barrier for a life of deep personal prayer. This is the adjustment we need: to take the spotlight off ourselves and put it on God. This is the goal of deep personal prayer.
