Let thy mind fast from vain thoughts;
let thy memory fast from remembering evil;
let thy will fast from evil desire;
let thine eyes fast from bad sights:
turn away thine eyes that thou mayest not see vanity;
let thine ears fast from vile songs and slanderous whispers;
let thy tongue fast from slander, condemnation,
blasphemy, falsehood, deception, foul language
and every idle and rotten word;
let thy hands fast from killing and from stealing another’s goods; let thy legs fast from going to evil deeds:
Turn away from evil, and do good.

Tikhon of Zadonsk

Difficulties in Prayer

Prayer is about making a relationship with God. like all relationship it has its ups and downs and we have to work at it, as with a good close human relationship.

In prayer God often tells what He wan from us but we don’t want to listen. Instead we demand from God what we want – but its what He wants that matters. God sees our life to its end ,as we can’t .

If we study Jesus praying in the Gospels we see Him refreshing Himself in prayer, struggling in Gethsemane to accept the burden of our sins at His crucifixion and asking for forgiveness for others

Prayer is not always easy – we have to fight our weariness , accept blankness and misery , remembering how Jeus suffered , thinking that God had forsaken Him.

The secret of Prayer is Perseverance.

Alexandra Cottrell, relecting on Augustine Hoey, Leaves from the Tree of Heaven

Prayer for freedom to Love

Open my eyes, O Lord, to see that all that I have
and all that I am is a gift received from you.
Free me from the power of my possessions.
Strengthen me to let go of my attachments.
Let nothing in my life become a substitute
for love of you and my neighbour. Amen.

[Michael March, based on a reflection on Abba Zosimos]

Luke 4.1-13
The Temptation of Jesus

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ 4 Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ 8 Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,

“Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.” ’

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“He will command his angels concerning you,

to protect you”,

11 and

“On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’

12 Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The Valley of Silence

In the hush of the valley of Silence
I dream all the songs that I sing;
And the music floats down the dim valley,
Till each finds a word for a wing,
That to hearts, like the dove of the Deluge,
A message of peace they may bring.

But far on the deep there are billows
That never shall break on the beach;
And I have heard songs in the silence
That never shall float into speech:
And I have had dreams in the valley
Too lofty for language to reach.

And I have seen thoughts in the valley—
Ah! how my spirit was stirred!—
And they wear holy veils on their faces;
Their footsteps can scarcely be heard:
They pass through the valley like virgins,
Too pure for the touch of a word.

Do you ask me the place of the valley,
Ye hearts that are harrowed with care;
It lieth afar between mountains,
And God and His angels are there;
And one is, the dark mountain of sorrow,
And one, the bright mountain of prayer.

Anonymous, quoted in Come Ye Apart by J. R. Miller