To those who know the joys of unvarnished worship and the unparalleled importance of prayer, the monastery beckons, though it be a corner of a loft apartment in Manhattan or the corner of an attic in Nebraska.
Our next Romans Reminder is . . . “Be devoted to prayer.” (Romans 12:12) Upon reflection, this calls for a monastic lifestyle, where prayer is what we do and initiate rather than what we fall back upon. For the monastic, the well-worn line from desperate cowboys in movies and country music, “Lord, You know I don’t hardly think of you and don’t pray much” has no romance to it. Although that kind of “I’m glad you’re there when I need you” philosophy does highlight the steadfast mercies of God, it isn’t for us.
Perhaps we have all seen those studies about WORDS . . . that men use several thousand daily and women use three times the number. What ought to more demand our attention is not that comparison but . . . How many of those who name the name of Jesus Christ never really speak to Him from one day to the next?
Worry . . . fretting . . . sanctimonious complaining . . . these are not prayer. Even thinking with a consciousness of Christian faith is not prayer.
Prayer is speaking to God and knowing He hears you. The Scripture says that, if He hears us, we have that thing which we ask of Him. Let’s look at that verse, 1 John 5:15:
“And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
When we make no distinction between our own random flow of thoughts and “prayer,” how shall we know that we have been heard on high? On earth, in relationship with one another, we know we have been heard when the other gives answer.
God gives answer. See in Scripture how He answered those who asked of Him! THAT is a kind of prayer to which we can be devoted, and it is to us our goal and our glory, here, in Cor Unum Abbey.
Trumpet vine … Cor Unum Abbey
Cor Unum Abbey 