But, How Do We Proceed?
Given that our encounters with the truth can be transformative and life producing, how do we proceed in opening our lives to the truth: attending its life-changing power and living responsively to its liberating work? Of course, we are not the first to ask such questions, so embracing wisdom from the past may indeed be instructive.
Classic Counsel and Advices
As we think about the liberating power of truth in each of our lives, personally, the wisdom of the ancient Greeks comes to mind. At the temple of Apollo at Delphi, three maxims are inscribed on a column in the forecourt, which people would see upon entering the temple. These classic advices are as follows:
- Know thyself
- Nothing in excess
- Surety brings ruin
As we seek to know ourselves—the whole truth: warts and all, foibles as well as glories—we first come to see our shortcomings as well as our strengths. As the Apostle Paul reminded his audience in Rome, all have sinned and come short of God’s glory; there is none righteous, no, not one (Rom 3:10-23). And, just as those living under the Law of Moses become aware of their shortcomings, even the Gentiles have a law unto themselves. Nonetheless, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, and those who receive God’s righteousness as a gift of grace by faith shall live (Rom 1:16-32).
The takeaway point here is that as we make space for honest and probing reflection, we see how short we fall regarding God’s perfect standards, let alone our own. Our most can never be enough, and our finest aspirations are finally unattained. Nonetheless, God loves us. God extends his grace—his undeserved love—toward us even while we were yet sinners, drawing us into restored relationship through the work of Christ on the cross. To say yes and thank you for that amazing gift of love is to be welcomed into the divine family (John 1:10-13). We are restored into right relationship with God, with others, and even within ourselves. We are liberated from the estrangement felt by Adam and Eve in the Garden, drawn back into fellowship with the Creator and restored to partnership in managing and cultivating the Garden.
To receive the righteousness of God by faith, however, is not simply to be deemed righteous subjectively, despite our objective shortcomings. By the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we also receive the gift of God’s righteous character, by which we not only are released from the penalty of sin; we are also liberated from its power. Indeed, we may fail and get it wrong at times, as finite human beings, but the grace of Christ also involves the empowerment to live a transformed life—no longer with self on the throne— because Christ is lord of our lives. The sanctified life is set apart to do God’s bidding alone, and the gift of the Spirit facilitates the decentration of self and the empowerment to live as we’d wished we could all along. Now that is good and liberating news!
George Fox described this transformed experience as entering back into the place where Adam was before he fell—recovering a sense of innocence, purity, and the selfless love of Christ for others and all of God’s creation. In his experience, creation itself had taken on another smell to it. In the Apostle Paul’s language, in Christ Jesus, the believer becomes a new creation, and indeed all things become new (2 Cor 5:17).
Thus, in coming to know oneself truly, we see our need before God, but that’s not the end. In the light of God’s saving-revealing-loving action toward humanity in Christ Jesus, we are offered the gift of redemption, being born from above (John 3:5). We even become partners with Jesus in his world-redeeming mission as his friends (John 15:12-15).
With the second maxim of Delphi, we are also reminded to seek the middle path. As Aristotle would put it, embracing the golden mean avoids the foibles of excess. The balanced life weighs the strengths and weaknesses of ideas and actions alike, seeking to choose what is best among other options. Here again, the work of the Holy Spirit here is key, leading us into the truth we need for the day. Sometimes this helps us find better answers; sometimes it involves asking better questions. If we keep in mind the central question for the follower of Jesus—What Would Jesus Do?—lesser options fall by the wayside. And, as the Helper-Advocate-Counselor, the Holy Spirit, brings to our awareness the teachings and example of Christ, discerning the best way forward readily emerges.
The third maxim of Delphi also becomes a friend to us, especially in an age of modern progress. Too easily we rest in the myth that science will discover the truth about all important issues, or that technology will be the answer to all our problems. Being reminded that surety brings ruin invites a more humble stance in life, despite robust confidence in worthy ways forward. We still make mistakes and can even be deceived by group-think, or echo chambers, or the societal bubbles in which we find ourselves. Thus, the invitation of Jesus to exchange our yokes for his—for he is meek and lowly in heart, producing rest for our souls—becomes the liberating way forward (Matt 11:28-30). Jesus invites us to learn of him, imitating his way and example; he also invites us to learn from him, attending and discerning his present leadings through the Holy Spirit. Such a stance in life indeed provides rest for our souls, and we thereby become salt and light in the world as followers and representatives of Jesus.
Creating Space for Contemplation and Listening Prayer
If Aristotle was correct, that the cultivating of virtues promises the surest means to a happy and fulfilling life, how to we cultivate the way of Christ in our lives? Or how do we even put into practice classic maxims for living a better life? Again, with Aristotle, habituation forges patterns in our daily lives in ways that lead to long-term and enduring change. Thus, creating space for contemplation and listening prayer is essential for personal growth and transformation, and developing a personal plan of action is what makes a difference.
When you look at the example of Jesus, he would flee into the hills or the wilderness at the beginning or end of a day, spending uninterrupted time with the heavenly Father. This allowed him to return to the work of ministry, recharged for a new day of teachings, healings, and engagements. If Jesus needed to do that, how much more do we! He also exposited Scripture in synagogue meetings, and he would cite biblical texts meaningfully in addressing particular issues. Jesus knew and interpreted the Scriptures well; this did not happen by accident. So, creating space in our busied lives for solitude, prayer, and biblical reflection is essential in embracing the yoke of Christ. It also helps us know ourselves, strike fitting balances, and assume humble stances rather than self-assured postures.
A Daily Pattern of Prayer
One of the disciplines I embraced as a college student at the second Lay Witness Mission was to experiment with the pattern of prayer outlined in a small pamphlet called The Great Discovery. In it the author (Ben Campbell Johnson) built upon an earlier booklet by William E. Sangster, Teach Me to Pray.[1] Both of these works developed a daily pattern of prayer based upon the Lord’s Prayer as developed in Matthew 6:9-13.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Note that in Matthew 6:5-8, the emphasis is upon authenticity and seeing God as one’s audience rather than one’s public. On the other hand, in Luke 11:1 the emphasis is upon teaching his disciples how to pray. Both thrusts are worthy, of course, but considering them together helps one appreciate the emphasis upon authenticity and learning. On one hand, God is the audience of our prayers, not humans. Therefore, impressive words, sonorous cadence, poetic diction—these make no difference when it comes to God’s hearing our prayers. They might even hinder our spiritual attentiveness, diverting our central focus toward human audiences rather than God. Nor does Jesus invite vain repetitions. That’s what the Gentiles do. Rather, Jesus offers his followers a pattern of prayer, providing us assistance and focus in our age afflicted with “Spiritual Attention-Deficit Syndrome.”
I adopted a daily pattern of prayer based upon the Lord’s Prayer my Freshman year of college, and I’ve been making use of this morning approach to prayer nearly every day since. Each day is hemmed with turning my thoughts to God. Upon waking, a hymn or chorus is mused upon: “When morning gilds the skies, my heart awakening cries, may Jesus Christ be praised….” Or, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it….” At the close of the day, reflecting on what went well and what might have gone better, receiving grace and empowerment to do better, the words of Jesus on the cross are embraced (Luke 23:46): “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Thus, God is given our sleeping hours as well as our waking ones. Before the day gets going, though, focusing two or three minutes on each of the elements of the Lord’s Prayer provides a balanced spiritual diet, helping our lives disembark from spiritual roller coasters and moving ahead into spiritual advance. The elements are as follows:[2]
- Praise and Adoration—Praise God for who God is: glimpsing the amazing truth of God’s being, which leads one into wondrous adoration as a sacrifice of praise.
- Thanksgiving and Gratitude—Thank God for what he has done: overflowing with gratitude for family, friends, life, work, community, and any blessings that come to mind, expressing appreciation also for others throughout the day.
- Dedication and Guidance—Forethink and foresee the day: offering particular elements of it up to God, envisioning his presence and guidance along the way, rededicating one’s life to God daily anew.
- Intercession and Petition—Uplift concerns for others in supportive prayer; offer God also your own needs, as Christ invites us to do.
- Grace and Forgiveness—Extend grace to others, confess shortcomings, and receive God’s forgiveness, as you have also released others from their indebtedness.
- Protection and Empowerment—Claim God’s protection and empowerment as the challenges of the day are faced; Christ is Lord, keep that in mind.
- Meditation and Attentiveness—Dwell on the sacramental reality of the Lord’s presence throughout the day, attending the present leading and exercising a responsive “Yes” to the divine initiative throughout the day.
In glimpsing the truth about the wonder of who God is and the blessings he has provided, we are drawn into authentic worship, adoration, and praise. In embracing the example and witness of Jesus as the self-emptying revelation of God’s sacrificial love, we cannot fail to be called into partnership with Jesus in laying down our lives in service to others as his friends (John 15:13-15). In glimpsing the truth of God’s glory, we cannot do other than the lift our hearts in spontaneous praise and adoration to who God is. If the created order praises God by its very being, perhaps we can too, with our hearts, minds, and strengths. And, as we integrate into our daily lives the pattern of prayer Jesus taught his disciples, we find ourselves drawn into authentic worship in life-changing ways that carry our personal transformation and growth forward throughout the day.
Therefore, creating the space to listen attentively to the one voice beyond the many—the living Word of God—allows us to tune in to God’s truth for us on a day-by-day basis, seeking guidance and empowerment to embrace the way of Christ as his dynamic followers in the world. Prayer, thus, is not as much a matter of speaking to or lecturing God about our needs; it involves most centrally attentive listening to the Divine Presence, living in it and acting out of it throughout the day.
When Mother Teresa was asked what she said to God when she prayed, she replied, I don’t talk, I simply listen.” The interviewer then asked, “Ah, then, what is it that God says to you when you pray?” She then replied, “He also doesn’t talk. He also simply listens.”[3]
Here we see a form of prayer that is greater and more profound than simply asking God for favors, or sharing with God our needs. As Simone Weil puts it, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.[4] And, the Apostle Paul references the Holy Spirit praying in and through us, with sighs and groanings that are too deep for words (Ro 8:26-27).
Thus, opening our hearts and minds to the truth-conveying presence of God is what the life of unceasing prayer is all about. And that begins and ends with developing a habitual practice of truth-seeking human-divine attentiveness, so that prayer is not simply something we do; is it something we become.
On Realigning Priorities
Another helpful exercise can be the realigning of our priorities—not a bad practice to engage in now and then. On one side of a sheet of paper, you might jot down between 8 and 10 ways you have spent your time and energy over the last two weeks, numbering the greatest investments to the least. On the other side of your paper, jot down your priorities, numbering your greatest priority and ranking each down to the least.
Then, reflect a bit on matches and disparities between your highest priorities and your greatest investments of time and energies, noting also the same with your lowest priorities and least investments of time and energies. Are any of these really out of line, or do some just need a bit of fine tuning? Hopefully, not too many are strikingly at odds, but a few will often be. Then, make a few changes—say, two or three reprioritizations of either your values or your time and energy spent.
Either reconciliation can be fine. If something is not really as high a priority as you’d thought, feel free to adjust it downward. Or, if your actual investment has been less than a genuine priority calls for, deciding to put more time and energy into a worthy priority can make for positive change. However you feel led, reorder your priorities or the time and energy you intend to spend, committing to a re-ordered life the next two weeks. Then see what happens. Again, this is a good practice to perform every few weeks or months, keeping first things first and not letting the important be dominated by the urgent. As John Greenleaf Whittier put it in his beautiful hymn:
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
beside the Syrian sea
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word
rise up and follow thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!
Drop thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
Abiding in the Truth—Embracing the Way of Christ
As creating the space to attend, discern, and mind the present leadings of Christ in our lives, we find ourselves abiding in the truth and embracing the way of Christ. It becomes a place of holy habitation, as we abide in Christ and he abides in us (John 15:4).
[1] Ben Campbell Johnson, The Great Discovery (Tucker, GA: Lay Renewal); William E. Sangster, Teach Me to Pray (Nashville, The Upper Room, updated 2000).
[2] A similar pattern of prayer is put forward in my book, Following Jesus: The Heart of Faith and Practice (Newberg, OR: Barclay Press, 2013), 68-77.
[3] David Brazeel, Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed your Soul (Orleans, MA: Paraclete Press, 2015).
[4] In her letter to Joë Bousquet (4/13/1942), Simone Pétrement. Simone Weil: A Life, translated by Raymond Rosenthal (New York: Pantheon Books. 1976).
Friendly Spirituality 