Newsbrief: Henri Nouwen on Prayer

I was reading through a Lenten devotional and decided I just had to share it with you.

It comes from a collection of Henri Nouwen’s writings called “Renewed For Life.” This particular devotion deals with the subject of prayer.

Prayer is the discipline of the moment. When we pray, we enter into the presence of God whose name is God-with-us. To pray is to listen attentively to the One who addresses us here and now. When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, then we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us guilty or anxious and thus allow ourselves to dwell in the present moment. This is a very hard challenge because radical trust in God is not obvious. Most people distrust God. Most people think of God as a fearful, punitive authority or as an empty, powerless nothing. Jesus’ core message was that God is neither a powerless weakling nor a powerful boss, but a lover, whose only desire is to give us what our hearts most desire.

May this Lenten season by a time when we all dare to trust in the amazing gifts of God’s grace, mercy, and love.

Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian