Letter from Robert
The Conversation in our Hearts
Dear Friends,
As I was preparing for a recent presentation on Prayer for our Friday Men’s Group I was reminded of a beautiful book that I have enjoyed for years titled
Soul Feast
. The book is both descriptive and prescriptive. In other words, the author Marjorie Thompson, describes different aspects of the spiritual life while at the same time offering suggestions for ways that we can grow in faith and faithfulness. I have always believed that one of our jobs as parents is to help our children develop a healthy posture before God. How are we encouraging our children in their faith development?
A few words from Thompson on prayer. “
The spiritual life has to do with how God relates to us and how we, in turn relate to God. Prayer is the essential expression of this relationship. As with the spiritual life itself, prayer is initiated by God. No matter what we think about the origin of our prayers, they are all responses to the hidden workings of the Spirit within…. Perhaps our real task in prayer is to attune ourselves to the conversation already going on deep in our hearts
.” (p. 31) So the question is – how do we tune in to this conversation and how do we help our children?
I think that environment is a huge piece of this. Think about what you can strip away and what you can add to increase the likelihood that you will slow down and take time to enter into the presence of God, breath more intentionally and speak and listen more specifically. Space, light, sound, ambiance, all play a part in creating the right prayer posture for me. Perhaps they matter to you to. Consider taking time to find what works for you and then help your child(ren) find what works for them. Let’s help one another tune into the conversation that is already taking place in our hearts.
To God be the Glory!
Robert
