Let’s pray…

Tags

being born again, encouragement, experience, God's guidance, God's love, God's voice, inspiration, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther, Michael Clark, prayer, rest, Søren Kierkegaard, Teresa of Ávila, The Lord's Prayer

This is another entry Michael Clark and I wrote together which springs from our own experiences with prayer and its effects on our soul and spirit.

---

It has been for three days now that I, Susanne, wanted to write a blog post about prayer. But since I had neither time nor inspiration to do so, I only gathered a few quotes on prayer yesterday in the late evening. Afterwards I shared these quotes with Michael and we prayed about writing together about how our times alone with God affect us. We realized that be both usually wake up in the flesh and urgently need to pray in order to feel God’s presence in our life again. Michael made an observation I really liked. He said, “I need to pray first thing or my day is trashed.” Yes, indeed! Here are the quotes that sprang somehow out on me. 😉

Advertisement

Who Needs Love? by Michael Clark and Susanne Schuberth

Tags

God's love, knowing, knowledge, love, preaching, psychology, rebuke, sinner, speaking, Teresa of Ávila

GOD IS LOVE
(Source: http://www.anaheller.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/58860011.jpg)

It is not the loveable person that needs to be loved. It is the unlovable person, the clamoring child, the rebellious adult, the nasty friend, the raging parent, in a nutshell, it is the SINNER that needs to be healed. If we react to misbehavior by speaking mere words only, they might be able to bring across what we mean, but without love they will never touch the heart of someone who has gone wild. Well, “words” alone are based on knowledge… what we think we know or what we feel. But if our words are not tempered with grace, they can wound and kill. For it is written,

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. (Proverbs 15:18 RSVA)

Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. (James 1:19-20 RSVA)

Where Do You Suppose to Start with the Prayer without Ceasing?

Tags

Augustine, experience, Francisco de Osuna, Gerhard Tersteegen, God's love, heart, Jeanne-Marie de la Motte-Guyon, mediation, meditative reading, mind, prayer, prayer without ceasing, presence of God, Teresa of Ávila

Madame de la Motte-Guyon

Whether it was Augustine, Teresa of Ávila, or other famous saints, I too made the same experiences they had made before me, that is, for many years I neglected daily prayer because…yes, I was bored with that daily routine. Teresa even admitted that she forgot about it for 14 years during which she lived a “worldly life” (her words) until she found a helpful book from another Spanish spiritual author, Francisco de Osuna, who introduced her to the prayer that finally led her into her inner life in the presence of God.

Instead of presenting another excerpt from Gerhard Tersteegen, I decided to offer you two excerpts from a French woman whose writings were translated by Tersteegen into the German language. Tersteegen as a Reformed Christian also translated Teresa of Ávila’s spiritual writings into German. Thus he gained enormous insight into the riches of Catholic mysticism and was eventually able to present a way deeper gospel to his Reformed fellow Christians.

Would you love to die for Jesus?

Tags

Bernini, ecstasy, heaven, Jesus Christ, love, martyrdom, near death experience, out-of-body experience, Saint Teresa of Jesus, spiritual power, Teresa of Ávila

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (The Ecstasy of Teresa of Ávila)

Whenever I find myself alone regarding my experiences with God and I am tempted to let myself go, there is only one thing I can do, and that is, to look at Him who knows how it feels to stand alone. Even though tears might fall down still, there is sooo much comfort in knowing that He endured the same. And surprisingly, God doesn’t want us to remain in our suffering as if there were no hope. Quite the contrary.

More and more I have been realizing that suffering is not the ultimate purpose but only the means to receive His joy at its fullest. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?