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Wednesday
11th Week OT
St.
Luke’s Institute
June
15, 2015
JESUS’
WORDS +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø When Jesus
says, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in
secret. And your
Father who sees in secret will repay you”
Ø He’s saying several
important things about effective prayer
1st
INNER ROOM ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø 1st something
about the “inner room”
Ø Remember
that in the Palestine of Jesus’ day the house consisted of one large room in
which all members of the family lived
Ø There were
no rooms as we know a house today
Ø So Jesus,
in speaking of an “inner room,” is clearly talking about a space within
oneself,
Ø An inner
place where prayer, encounter with God, and transformation might take place
2nd
IN SECRET ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø 2nd
pray in secret
Ø In this
“inner room” you will find an eternal spring of God’s life — a secret place — hidden
deep within us that bubbles up and out from our depths
Ø And there’s
nothing we need to do to create it
Ø It merely
needs to be acknowledged and tapped
Ø And prayer
“in secret” is a way of cultivating an openness to that transforming source of
life and love
3rd
FATHER’LL REPAY ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø 3rd
the Father will repay
Ø That is to
say the gift of the Father within is a movement of grace from the inside to the
outside
Ø So we need
not look at transformation as having its source from things outside the inner
secret room where God is encountered
CONCLUSION
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø How
available that potential for transformation is!
Ø All we need
to do is let go of outer appearances, what we or others think of us, and enter
into our hidden life in God
Ø Stop
clinging to the outer world and with confident faith surrender all to God in
simple wordless prayer…
Ø And the grace
will flow!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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