Author: rkcdlitt

I cannot imagine what my life would be like without prayer. I try to live with this idea foremost in my mind: “Taste and see how God is in my life.” I find it easier every day to write and talk about God in my life. Perhaps, this has to do with age, but I like to think it is about my realization that what I have did not come to without help.

The comfort and blessing I have today are grounded and invigorated by the presence of God in my life. Although I spend a good portion of my day in pain, I find comfort when I am praying with others, or, praying for others. In these moments I am taking my presence out of myself and placing inside those I pray for. The Bible tells us to ask and we will receive, search and we will find, and knock and the door will be opened. This has happened to me so many times in my life, that doubting God’s presence in my life is an absurd concept.

James tells us that when we draw nearer to God, he will draw us nearer to Him. I feel this in many ways. One of the ways is when I am in distress and I am surrounded by friends and family in prayer. This is God’s way of reminding me that His presence is with us. Even Jesus needed and felt this when he entered the garden to pray and asked his disciples to join him. The comfort of their presence was the comfort of God.

Prayer is the comfort of knowing God is with us. Pray often.

A prayer from Frederick Blumhardt:

Lord our God, Almighty Father in heaven, we stand before you as your children, whom you want to protect through the need of our time, through all sin and death. We praise you for giving us so much peace in an age full of trouble, and for granting us the assurance of your help. Even when we suffer, we do not want to remain in the darkness of suffering but want to rise up to praise and glorify you. For your kingdom is coming; it is already at hand. Your kingdom comforts and helps us and points the way for the whole world, that your will may be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.

We all face difficulties which test us; these are the outside force society puts on us. It is difficult to keep our faith in this unbelieving world. We also face difficulties within us; we are humans, not gods, and, as we age, we must face the certainty of death, the death of our human body. Can we be confident that this great test is not lost to our faith.

For me, what seems most significant is that Spirit, the divine indwelling of creation that is within us. God promises: “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” If we have God’s spirit within us, we may lose our human form, but not what really matters. God guarantees this.

We worry about earning a living, making sure that we have money for our retirement. If we choose to be our own self-appointed god, then we will merely go enter our own trap, all of us, wealthy and poor. If we want to live without God in our lives, then we are imprisoned in these mortal bodies, which are self-made jails.

God’s Spirit never gives up on us. It’s God within us that loves all of His creation. When we are faced with our human frailty, it is to feel that we are alone. We can shed our concerns and turn God, who opens all doors for us, especially when we can’t see what our path of life is. It takes inner strength to believe in God’s Grace and live by it, even when we face problems.

I try to keep this positive face whenever I am our in the world. The difficult times are when I am alone in my house. I remember that I am only human, and I remember that God loves me.

God, the light of the world

the light of human existence.

His Word is in our hearts.

His Word allows us to rejoice.

when bitter times engulf us,

we rejoice, as the world rejoices

when His Will and His Word are within us.

God Protects us,

keeps us free in spirit,

allows us harmony

with Him and with ourselves. 

Jesus walked the desert, tempted,

always growing closer to God.

His life was disruption

to Israel’s society,

as it is with our society.

We cannot allow how society corrupts us,

leading us from the lighted path of God.

We are in our own desert,

tempted by forces beyond our control.

We can be as Jesus

resisting temptations to live without God.

In time of Lent, we

We may not realize an epiphany;

we may not realize God

working in our life,

not working to our expectations.

God is working within us,

purifying us,

as Jesus was purified in the desert.

As anxious as I am,

I practice meditation

to learn patience.

God is with me. I know;

I live this.

My serenity is my gift from God

it is what helps me spread Love

through my writing, the Love of God.

Every morning I awaken

to the sound of God’s angel whispering in my ear:

“grow, grow, you are in God’s glorious light.”

Being a miracle of life, I am,

like all of you

a part of God.

We carry a little piece of God

within us every day.

we spread God’s love to others.

We reach for those

In need of God’s help.

We bring them

to the light that is universal, 

the light that is meant to be shared

by all.

The most difficult task for us to be completely honest with ourselves. This fault is a natural part of the human experience, one of the ways we fall short in our relationship with ourselves, others, and God. We are told to go into a room alone to pray, to be with God; it is this time where we need to be the most honest. Maybe, what we should do, must do, is take an inventory of ourselves, either alone or with a trusted friend or mentor, to find what we need to correct or even purge from our systems, all to be honest with ourselves.

With God’s help, we can discover our fully personal lives, including the immortal divine life, as well as the mortal human life. With the spirit of God within us, being completely honest with ourselves, opens us to receive ever-flowing love coming into our hearts. God brings us closer to him, allowing us to be closer to each other . . . if we are honest with ourselves; we then become honest with God and with others, giving us everlasting love.

God’s eternal love for us transforms us so that with others, sharing this love, we can transform the world to His goodness and grace. There is no stronger inspiration for us to be honest with ourselves and others, therefore, also being honest with God. And, since we have such a difficult task, God gave us the perfect example, Jesus, a human example to emulate, which does not mean we have to be physical crucified. Our task can be and undoubtedly is much more difficult, allowing ourselves to be spiritually crucified, therefore growing closer to God.

Honesty within is very difficult, but very, very rewarding.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This was the first psalm I memorized, and it still is a great part of my life sixty-five years later . . . when I am in the moment. This psalm, along with the presentation of the Festival of Dedication in John 10, was the subject of our rector’s homily yesterday at church. The great question asked by the apostles was are you the one.

We all ask this, at many times in our lives. Reflecting on Psalm 23, the answer is yes, for me. We are doubters; remember Thomas’s doubts. When we doubt, we are not fully prepared for God’s love that dwells within us; we are not able to see what is within us and surrounding us. As our rector stated: If you are not living within the moment, the moment is not, cannot be within you. Something is missing.

I think back to something I said in a previous meditation; if we are not as present in the moment, the same way that a child is present, we are not fully accepting God’s presence within us. Just watch a child at play, while coloring, or reading. The concentration there is obvious; nothing can pierce the protective shell that the child has temporarily created while doing that one thing. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost the ability of a young child to be present in the current moment.

This is the way we can be when we remember that God is within us.

Too often, we live with the expectation of something greater than the present is waiting for us. Is not this our egos usurping our every moment? Can we let go of our self-importance to accept the presence of God within us? I find this very difficult at times, especially when I awaken each morning with the pains of old age.

However, when I am like and child and remember the words of David’s psalm, I can feel God’s closeness; I know that I am walking in His light. I know that when I am as a young child, I am filled with His love and His grace.

May you feel God’s presence today.

Are we perfect?

Our society does not treat us with respect; we live in a world that expects us to be perfect. If we fall prey to this expectation, we measure ourselves to all of the images we see around us, we feel something less than perfect. Often, we try to hide our imperfections and expend an enormous amount of time, money, and energy into measuring up, creating a psychological hollowness within us.

This results in us filling our self-image, our ego, with all of the artificial pressures placed on us by society. By doing this, we have no room for anything else. In a word, we are empty of what matters, but filled with artificial nothingness. This artificial nothingness can lead us into emotional and psychological feelings of superiority. Our ego takes over.

Society is not about you; it is not about me; it is about us. It cannot be about us if we are so pepped up by this false ego. Our ability to share is not how much we really have to give to society, but how empty we truly are.  We cannot receive the gift of giving with being able to receive.

This has to start with our relationship to God. To receive His grace, we have to empty ourselves of this falseness so that we can receive His Love fully in our life and let Him live His life within us. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within us; we just have to allow Him in. We have to empty ourselves of ego.

God is Life; God is Truth; God is Love; God is Perfect. I ask each morning for God to be within me as I live through my day.

I am immortal only because of my inner child

It is indestructible, emotional,

sometimes quick to anger, quick to accuse

it is often immature, intolerant, and unable to accept others.

It is playful, promising, dreaming,

sometimes wishing for the impossible,

hopeful with a positive attitude,

able to accomplish everything

with unlimited possibilities,

always willing to help others

when it reveals itself. I am

as young and immature as its imagination.

I am happy to live with this inner child;

I love when I look at the world,

seeing love, seeing God’s Grace.

With God’s will, I will be my inner child.

From the Church of England: Many people think only about food, drink, money, and material goods. They believe that having more stuff brings a rich, abundant life. These lives are shaped by wanting more material things. Jesus challenges this view; he provides bread for the people and then he leads them deeper. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.

The people ask, ‘What is this food?’ Jesus replies, ‘I am’. ‘I am the bread of life’: the one who brings joy and strength and sustains and feeds all that we are created to be. This is a key part to the Lord’s Prayer that leads us back to the Him. As we pray for daily bread, we are praying daily for a fresh encounter with Christ. Do we dare to do this?

We all already have this ability within us and between us—in fact, Jesus assures us that we are already “clothed” in it “from on high” (see Luke 24:49)! We need to look deep into our hearts and tend them with the same care as those who first heard Jesus speak, being careful to prune, and cut, and even to burn so that we too may live our lives in peace.

The scriptures remind us that peace is the fruit of love, a love that is also just, just for all. God reminds us that this is not easy; we must work hard within ourselves to bring this love to all whom we meet. It may even involve giving up the certainties that we have held on to all our lives, giving up the comforts that shelter us, but also harm us. Let us define ourselves as God asks.

As we witness so much division, fear, and suffering in our world, we wonder what path there is to healing ourselves and restoring hope. Perhaps, faith in ourselves and in God is the only trustworthy guide for us to follow. This faith is within us; can we divorce ourselves from the worries that others create to be comforted in God’s Love? Can we accept the food that God prepares for us?

Perhaps you can respond to this, to yourselves or to this meditation.

Reviewing my life

A fearful task

filled with kinks, reversals,

right and left turns.

Looking back, I see the path of a tavern patron

Weaving home after a night of folly.

How can this be

I aimed in one direction, but changed often

My life paths are the branches of a tree

With many twists and turns

Many alternate ways to reach the sun

O, that my life be a river

Strength enough to absorb obstacles

Swift enough to go around or engulf them

Always unhindered in its path

But alas, I prize my life

With each branch that I climb, I approach the sunlight

With each branch, I draw nearer to God

Our pursuit of happiness is based on shallow premises. We think that there is something we must do or must have to be happy. If we look at what makes us truly happy, we find that it is our family, our friends, things we cannot buy. The joy that truly makes us happy is given by God; there is no requirement; there is nothing we have to do to gain it. It is ours with no preconditions. If we open our hearts, we gain the riches of God’s grace, receiving the fruits of love, joy, and peace.

God’s Love for us in infinite and eternal. This love is with us whatever we do, wherever we go, whoever we are. In every state of our being, God’s love remains unwavering. When we accept this and allow it to grow within us, the benefits to us are eternal and bring great joy.

When a loved one is facing struggles, remember to include God in your prayers and life. The rewarding grace is truly a calming aura that invades your very being. At times of stress, when I include God in my prayers, this calm comes over me. The physical situation may not change immediately, but the internal stress is relieved, knowing that God is holding me close to his heart.

We find it difficult to remember that in our everyday life, the material things that we covet are not the important things, which are Love of God, Love of family, love of our neighbors, wherever they are, and love of the bodies given to us by God.

Lord our God, although we feel that we not always worthy of the mercy and faithfulness you show to us, we thank you for your love and ask you to keep our hearts open for the joy of receiving Your Love and the love of all humankind.