Beautiful Of Soul

I was going through some old journal posts and found I had written this back in 2007. It is something that, once again, is front and center in my life and it was a great reminder about the importance of prayer. I post it here again in light of our present journey to BE the church in our neighborhood and community, knowing that no fruit will come to bear without the foundation of prayer.


"I am seeking God's wisdom and help in regards to prayer. What am I to do? How does it look? If I am truly seeking God, how does the contemplative tradition play a role in my life. I am finding a new life in prayer as I have read some things which have inspired and challenged me to dive into His presence even more. Richard Foster's book "Streams of Living Water" talks beautifully about a life filled with Spirit-led prayer. Not only is there a beautiful side to prayer as you meditate on His words and intercede for others but there is a NEED for prayer that I have experienced in my life which I cannot live without. Beth Moore writes in her study, "Breaking Free" about an obstacle to peace....prayerlessness. I personally experienced this last year and I can assure you that avoiding or neglecting prayer can only lead to a life of anxiety and no peace. Moore defines peace as, "the fruit of a righteous, obedient life.... the KEY to peace is authority." Without a lifestyle of prayer, I take back that control; I am unwilling to live under that authority. Moore goes on to say that "...Satan would rather we do anything then pray... he knows we will eventually grow resentful without prayer.... we will never have the deep understanding and power to live what we have learned without prayer. Prayerless lives are powerless lives." I've personally lived through both of these in recent months and a life of prayer has meant so much as I have seen the intimacy that forms and the power of talking with my Lord transform me from the depths of my heart. I still have a LONG way to go!
One man that is inspiring is Frank Laubach, mentioned in Foster's book. He experiments with prayer and finds that praying for others is such an important part of his prayer life. That has always been toughest for me as I run down my list of people and find it overwhelming to pray for each in a sincere, personal way. I usually give up, or try to come up with a system to hit a certain group on a certain day, but nothing ever seems to last. I think, like so many other areas of life, it comes down to a change of heart and the attitude going into it. Laubach says in his book, "Letters of a Modern Mystic," that he felt God speaking to him and saying,"My child, when you pray to me of your own little troubles and doubts, your prayer is pretty thin and small. When you reach out to help other people by offering yourself as a channel for me, your prayer becomes at once large and noble." How awesome :-) Prayer is beautiful in so many ways-more then I can fathom. Foster also says, "The 2 most common words to define the contemplative way (prayer) are FIRE and LOVE. Purging, purifying fire. Enveloping, comforting love." How can one who disciplines himself in this way be anything less than, "beautiful of soul"?"