Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you (img)sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
James 4:7-8 NLT
Since relocating St Cuthbert’s Oratory from a city setting to the country, I’ve fallen in love with gardening. It offers up so many insights into the ways of God. One thing I have learned is the essential role of weeding. Having created flowerbeds out of unkempt areas, I am amazed at the speed the weeds return. Weeds compete with the plants for survival. Often, they grow up through the plant you appreciate and are difficult to disentangle. The plant is disturbed and can be damaged during the removal of weeds.
Life, like a weed, often springs up in the wrong place. It can have a beauty all of its own. However, leave it to grow uninterrupted, and other plants will fail to flourish. If, as I do, we feel drawn to pursue prayer beyond the shallows, we face demands about how we approach life, and especially how we manage the appetites that influence each one of us. Will we acknowledge and remove those appetites in order to make greater growing space for God?
God invites us to be purified through the fire (Isaiah 48:10). This will be a unique sequence of experiences for each one of us. This refinement process is often the context within which I reframe my prayer as I discern more of God’s will for its object and objective. As we create more room, removing those things that compete for nourishment from the soil of our lives in response to God, we can participate in securing God’s rule and reign in the world around us.
For me prayer is a process of constant gardening. Yet, there is no one-size-fits-all plan so again, only pray as you are able. But remember prayer is a two-way street, it is a journey in discovering the degree to which God’s kingdom is revealed throughout the earth.
QUESTION
How much weeding are you prepared to do?
PRAYER
Just as you created a perfect garden in Eden, please work in me so that my prayer life grows and results in a harvest of good fruit.
Image-1.5c44497ae90346a1a2df53d33fec48df.png