~R. Thomas Ashbrook
"The wiles of the devil are terrible; he will run a thousand times round hell if by doing so he can make us believe that we have a single virtue which we have not."
~Teresa of Avila
Many a one has turned
from his inner chamber, under bitter self-accusation that he has prayed so
little, and has resolved for the future to live in a different manner. Yet no blessing has come—there was not the
strength to continue faithful, and the call to repentance had no power, because
his eyes had not been fixed on the Lord Jesus.
If he had only understood he would have said: “Lord, Thou seest how cold
and dark my heart is: I know that I must pray, but I feel that I can not do so;
I lack the urgency and desire to pray.”
He did not know that at that moment the
Lord Jesus in His tender love was looking down upon him and saying: “You cannot
pray; you feel that all is cold and dark: why not give yourself over into my
hands? Only believe that I am ready to
help you in prayer; I long greatly to shed abroad My love in your heart, so
that you, in the consciousness of weakness, may confidently rely on Me to
bestow the grace of prayer. Just as I
cleanse you from all other sins, so also will I deliver from the sin of
prayerlessness—only do not seek the victory in your own strength. Bow before Me as one who expects everything
from his Savior. Let your soul keep
silence before Me, however sad you feel your state to be. Be assured of this—I will teach you how to
pray. (The Prayer Life by Andrew Murray)
It is amazing how, even after 37+ years of following Jesus, reading the saints and the poets can cause me to realize how much of a beginner I still am. Lord, have mercy.
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