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Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke─
One day, Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should keep praying regularly and never lose heart.
Nikon of Optina (1888-1931), Russian Orthodox Church─
Do not forget prayer-it is the life of the soul.
Prayer is like breath to the body. We would not, if in our right mind, try to stop breathing, thinking the body would be okay without breath. How can we, then, think we can live on the surfaces, ignoring Spirit, and think our life-vitality within us will thrive?
Prayer is the means of communion with the Unseen. From this depth, vital energies flow and infuse us with aliveness, as it does all living beings. These energies the Greek Orthodox churches call grace, and grace they refer to as "divine energies." To be being graced, is to be in union with these currents of life.
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A prayerful person will have a heart inclined to the Light, like a plant tilting toward the Sun. As one prays and meditates, one begins to experience quiet prayerfulness; in this prayerfulness, nothing needs to be spoken. Here, one rests in the Beloved. I like to refer to this resting as soaking. One is soaking in the rays of the Light.
We conclude, with a lovely blessing given us by the Quaker, Elizabeth Mills, in her, In the Stillness.
What are you afraid of?
Where does the fear come from?
The world of mirrors
Flashes and shines
But is illusion
Not real
And will pass
See beyond the reflections
To the core
The single pure Reality
From which all else stems
And to which all else returns
Above all else and
Through all else
Trust in this Reality
Which manifests an
Inner Light and Radiance
Which may be apprehended in Love
And known through Silence
This day and every day
Amen
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©️ Brian Wilcox, 2020
*Brian can be contacted at briankwilcox@gmx.com; his book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, is available through major online booksellers, including Amazon and Books-A-Million, or via the publisher, AuthorHouse.
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