THOUGHTS ON PRAYER

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REAL PRAYER

a letter to a friend from Fenelon

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Real prayer is nothing more than loving God.

Prayer is not made great by a lot of words, for God

knows your inmost feelings before you say them.

True prayer comes from the spirit. You pray only

for what you really desire. If you do not see what

you are desiring from the depths of your heart,

your prayer is deceitful. You could pass whole

days "praying," but if you do not pray from your

deepest, inmost desires, you are not praying.

You pray without ceasing when there is true

love in your heart, and when there is a desire born

of God there. Love, hidden in the depths of the

spirit, prays constantly even when your mind needs

to attend to something else. Love asks God to give

you what you need and to regard your sincerity

above your human weakness.

God's love within you removes even the slight-

est faults and purifies you like a consuming fire.

The Spirit within you asks for all things according

to the will of God. Even when you are busy with

outward things there is still a constantly burning

fire within you. This fire, which cannot be put out,

encourages a secret prayer which is like a lamp

always burning before the throne of God. "I sleep

but my heart is awake."

There are two things that will help you keep

this spirit of prayer: regular time set aside to be

with God, and coming back to God as much as you

can during the day. Stay away from people who

distract you too much or who excite your passions!

The first fruit of a sincere love for God Is the

earnest desire to do all that you can to please your

Beloved. To do any less is to love yourself before

God. God forbid! Cost what it may, you must be

willing to do all that He asks without reservation.

Do what you should before you go out to enjoy

yourself People who neglect their duties to "spend

more time with God" deceive themselves. You

won't get closer to God by being irresponsible and

calling it "spiritual." Real union with God is to do

all that is required of you by God, no matter what

you feel.

Make sure you make time for God. Those who

are in important positions are often busy and will

be tempted to leave time for communion with God

until last. Guess what? You will never have any

time for God. Be firm with yourself. Don't let the

confusion of the day crowd out your time with

God. This may sound too strict, but you will soon

fail apart if you don't listen to what I have to say

about this.

by Fenelon