Richard J. Foster On Prayer (Part 2 of 3)

Excerpts from:

Prayer: The Heart's True Home

In solitude, however, we die not only to others but also to ourselves…. Slowly, we find ourselves letting go of our inner compulsions to acquire more wealth than we need, look more youthful than we are, attain more status than is wise. In the stillness, our false, busy selves are unmasked and seen for the imposters they truly are. [Pg. 63, Chapter: Formation Prayer]

We must be careful here not to lay impossible burdens upon people…. Over this matter I want to give some counsel for parents of infants. The demand that your baby makes are immense – more than you realize right now – especially if you are a single parent. The interruptions never end…. Rather than trying to pray in some fanciful isolation that you will never find, discover God in your times with your baby. God will become real to you through your baby. The times of play with your baby are your prayers. You may be able to pray during feeding time – this is especially true for nursing mothers – so sing your prayer to the Lord. In a few short months you will be able to return to a more regular pattern of prayer. [Pg. 73-4, Chapter: Covenant Prayer]

The Holy Spirit of God, the third member of the Trinity himself accompanies us in our prayers. When we stumble over our words, the Spirit straightens out the syntax. When we pray with muddy motives, the Spirit purifies the stream. When we see through a glass darkly, the Spirit adjusts and focuses what we are asking until it corresponds to the will of God. The point is that we do not have to have everything perfect when we pray. The Spirit reshapes, refines, and reinterprets our feeble, ego-driven prayers. [Pg. 98-9, Chapter: The Prayer of Rest]

We need not be forced to choose one over the other.... We can be lifted into high, holy reverence by the richness and depth of a well-crafted liturgy. We can also be drawn into breath-taking wonder through the warmth and intimacy of spontaneous worship. Ours is a spirituality that can embrace both. [Pg. 105, Chapter: Sacramental Prayer]

I am sure you sense the desperate need for Unceasing Prayer in our day. We pant through endless series of activities with scattered minds and noisy hearts. We feel strained, hurried, breathless. Thoughts dart in and out of our minds with no rhyme or reason. Seldom can we focus on a single thing for long. Everything and anything interrupt our sense of concentration. We are distracted people. Unceasing prayer has a way of speaking peace to the chaos. [Pg. 121, Chapter: Unceasing Prayer]

~ Daniel Brockhan