Focus Quotes

A Place of Rest: Spending Time with God


“It is amazing how many people prefer service more than prayer. And reading more than prayer. And contemplation more than prayer. And attending religious gatherings more than prayer. That is why they fail in their relationship with God. They therefore meditate, read, have a service and attend their meetings, but are separated from God. There is no relationship.”

H.H Pope Shenouda III

“Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock with patience. For thus he who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened.”

St. John Climacus

Readings: A Place of Rest

A Place of Rest: Spending Time with God


New Testament Passages

“And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.”

Mark 6:31-32

“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”

And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Luke 11:1-13

Old Testament Passage

“Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.”

Exodus 33:7-11

Prayer: Be Humble

Be Humble, or you’ll stumble


Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

For so long I have looked to myself. I have wallowed in self-pity and rejoiced in vain glory alike. Help me to redirect my eyes upon You, O Lord, the giver of all good things. Help me to see Your hand in everything I say and do.

Help me to empty myself of all that I am proud of, and of all that I am ashamed of. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow, for I know that only then can I be filled with You. Break every source of pride that resides within me so that I can be healed in You.

Do not disregard a humble heart that pleads for your mercy and compassion. I come to you broken and in need, do not allow me to be consumed by my pride any longer. Draw near to me so that I may praise You all the days of my life.

Glory be to Your holy and blessed Name, now and forevermore, Amen.

Focus Quotes: Be Humble

Be Humble, or you’ll stumble


focus quote

If you would be simple-hearted like the Apostles, would not conceal your human shortcomings, would not pretend to be especially pious, if you would walk free from hypocrisy, then that is the path. While it is easy, not everyone can find it or understand it. This path is the shortest way to salvation and attracts the grace of God. Unpretentiousness, guilelessness, frankness of soul – this is what is pleasing to the Lord, Who is lowly of heart. Except ye become like children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of God (Matt. 18:13).”

Elder Leonid of Optina

If you deprecate yourself in order to be honored, the Lord will expose you… And if you censure yourself aiming at truth, the Lord will make his creatures open in front of you the door of his glory of which He speaks from eternity, and they would glorify you and glorify the Creator, because in truth you would be to His image and His resemblance.”

Saint Isaac the Syrian

Readings: Be Humble

Be Humble, or you’ll stumble

New Testament Passage

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. – Matthew 15:27-28

Discussion Questions

  1. Using the passage as a guide, what are some differences between humility and self-depreciation? Hint: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less” – Clive Staples Lewis
  2. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools.” Eccl. 7:5 – What are some practical steps to receiving rebuke constructively?

Old Testament Passage

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.

So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day forward.” – 1 Samuel 17:45-47, 18:7-9.

Discussion Questions

  1. Compare qualities displayed by David and Saul in the passage. What did David have that Saul lacked?
  2. What are the consequences of not having humility?
  3. It was once said that as soon as you start thinking you are humble, you have lost it. What practical steps then, can we take to grow and nurture the fruit of humility?

Prayer: Staying Connected

Staying Connected

Striving toward a life of Unceasing Prayer


Prayer

O Lord, as we raise our hearts to You who are so wondrous, help us first to think of our sins, our weaknesses, and our shortcomings and beg for mercy and forgiveness. Clear us of the corruptions that infect our hearts, remove the blindness from our mind’s eye that hides our sins, and purify us through prayer.

O Lord, we pray that we may learn how to pray in spirit and in truth. We pray that we may learn how to have Your word on our lips or in our hearts unceasingly. We pray that You may teach us discipline and perseverance that we may approach you in Your majesty and turn to You with awe in our hearts. We pray that our lives become a prayer.

O Lord, we thank you that the path to your heavenly house is always open to us. We thank You that we need only look within ourselves to find You and that this sight, this prayer, is always open to us. We thank you for Your constant giving. We pray finally, O Lord, save us!

Amen.

Readings: Staying Connected

Staying Connected

Striving toward a life of Unceasing Prayer


New Testament Passage

12And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labour among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. 14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. 16Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise prophecies. 21Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.  – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 

Discussion Questions

  1. We see the exhortation “Pray without ceasing” is couched in a number of other moral imperatives such as “comfort the faint-hearted” and “in everything give thanks.” What is the relationship between my prayer life and the rest of my moral life as a Christian? 
  2. St Paul calls us to ‘unceasing prayer’. How are we to understand how to do this? Are we always to have a word to God on our lips and minds or is this impossible and too hard-line a task? Could, perhaps, prayer take multiple forms? 

Old Testament Passage

6So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counsellors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. – Daniel 6:6-10

Discussion Questions

  1. Having heard that he would be slain for prayer to God, the first thing Daniel does is looks to that age-old cure for all woes: prayer to God (what a beautiful paradox!). How can prayer and reliance upon God aid us in times of struggle? How can we be firm in our prayer though the world thinks it folly? 
  2. Above we discussed unceasing prayer, but the author of Daniel writes that Daniel “Knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Clearly Daniel had a prayer rule to organise his prayer life. What makes an effective prayer rule? How can I implement it effectively? 

Prayer: Sharper than any Two Edged Sword

The Bible


Prayer

Dear Lord,

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path. Whenever I feel lost or afraid, help me to run to Your Word. May Your Word dwell in my heart and my mind always. Do not let me to become complacent to Your Word. Rather, let it be a two-edged sword that grants me confidence in You and sets my path straight when I have strayed.

Thank You for giving me the love letter that is the Bible. It is my safe haven in times of trial and tribulation and my eternal source of joy and comfort. I know that whenever I read Your Word, I am hearing Your voice speaking directly to me. Help me to yearn for the time I get to hear Your Word.

Help me to know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image so that I may run to Your precious Word all the days of my life. May Your praise always be upon my lips. Forever and always Yours. Amen.