DAY FOUR - Praying together “I do not call you servants any longer… but I have called you friends”
Scripture
Jn 15:15
Rom
8:26-27 The Spirit helps us in our weakness
Lk
11:1-4 Lord, teach us to pray
Meditation
God thirsts for relationship with us. He searches for us as
he searched for Adam, calling to him in the garden: “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9)
In Christ, God came to meet us. Jesus lived in prayer,
intimately united to his Father, while creating friendships with his disciples
and all those he met. He introduced them to that which was most precious to
him: the relationship of love with his Father, who is our Father. Jesus and the
disciples sang psalms together, rooted in the richness of their Jewish
tradition. At other times, Jesus retired to pray alone.
Prayer can be solitary or shared with others. It can express
wonder, complaint, intercession, thanksgiving or simple silence. Sometimes the
desire to pray is there, but one has the feeling of not being able to do so.
Turning to Jesus and saying to him, “teach me”, can pave the way. Our desire
itself is already prayer.
Getting together in a group offers us support. Through hymns,
words and silence, communion is created. If we pray with Christians of other
traditions, we may be surprised to feel united by a bond of friendship that
comes from the One who is beyond all division. The forms may vary, but it is
the same Spirit that brings us together.
In the regularity of our common prayer, the love of Jesus
springs up within us, we know not how. Common prayer does not exempt us from
personal prayer. One sustains the other. Let us take a time each day to renew
our personal intimacy with Jesus Christ.
The Rule of Taizé in French and English Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Great Britain pp. 19 & 21
Prayer
Lord Jesus, your entire life was prayer, perfect harmony with
the Father. Through your Spirit, teach us to pray according to your will of
love. May the faithful of the whole world unite in intercession and praise, and
may your kingdom of love come.
"Jesus was in prayer" He was never not in prayer. What a gifted blessing it is, as we go about the ordinary tasks of our day, to suddenly know the gentle presence of God within us. And to thank him for his love, and to tell him of our love in return.
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