Quotes from Richard J. Foster

Lord, as you awaken us to delight in your praise, grant that we may know you, call on you, and praise you; for you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. Amen. —St. Augustine

By means of intense personal discipline Flannery O'Connor was able to rise above a debilitating disease to become one of the finest fiction writers of the twentieth century. Freedom is the product of discipline and commitment.

Circle me, Lord, keep protection near and danger afar. Circle me, Lord, keep light near and darkness afar. Circle me, Lord, keep peace within; keep evil out. In

It is only because of your love, only your love, that the poor will forgive you the bread you give them.

If we hope to move beyond the superficialities of our culture, including our religious culture, we must be willing to go down into the recreating silences, into the inner world of contemplation.

Discipline is to present us before grace, it does not produce grace to make sense.

God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it.

Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures—I wish no more than this, O Lord."6

In fact, the common experience of those who walk with God is one of being given images of what can be.

Or even wanted to experience! But

What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart.

We are made to feel ashamed to wear clothes or drive cars until they are worn out. The mass media have convinced us that to be out of step with fashion is to be out of step with reality. It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick. Until we see how unbalanced our culture has become at this point, we will not be able to deal with the mammon spirit within ourselves nor will we desire Christian simplicity.

It is important when we have a need to go to God in prayer. I know, whenever I have prayed earnestly, that I have been heard and have obtained more than I prayed for. God sometimes delays, but He always comes." —Martin Luther, "What a Great Gift We Have in Prayer"9

When we set out on a consciously chosen course of action that accents the good of others and is, for the most part, a hidden work, a deep change occurs in our spirits.

Lord Jesus, as it would please you bring me someone today whom I can serve.

Do not forget that the value and interest of life is not so much to do conspicuous things…as to do ordinary things with the perception of their enormous value.    Ã¢â'¬â€Teilhard de Chardin

Father God, you sent your Son to this earth that we may be one, and yet we fail so miserably. We look out for our own interests first and put your work last. We allow ourselves to be separated by jealousy and bitterness and misunderstanding. Forgive us for our failures. Teach us to hold Jesus before us always, with the knowledge and understanding that only through him can our fellowship work and magnify your name. Amen.

Without the cross the Discipline of confession would be only psychologically therapeutic. But it is so much more. It involves an objective change in our relationship with God and a subjective change in us. It is a means of healing and transforming the inner spirit.

Our prayer is to be like a reflex action to God's prior initiative upon the heart.

There is no place where God is not, wherever I go, there God is. Now and always he upholds me with his power and keeps me safe in his love. —Anonymous

As Foster writes, "If our spiritual vitality seems low, if Bible study produces only dusty words, if prayer seems hollow and empty, then perhaps a prescription of lavish and joyful giving is just what we need."5

Our own spiritual formation will be strengthened if, in our busy, crowded, and noisy lives, we find regular times and places for quiet, for prayer, for listening to God. Time alone with God gives us renewed energy to live fully engaged with the world again. Do

We are silent after hearing the Word because the Word is still speaking and dwelling within us. We are silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word, and we are silent before going to sleep because the last word also belongs to God." —Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together 6

how do we experience a contrite heart? a grieving, broken, sorrowing, repentant heart?