Devotions

I purchased a new laptop the other day, a Dell XPS, the slickest laptop I have ever owned. Part of the gig of owning a computer includes decided what kind of software to add, and then performing downloads. Nothing glamorous by any means! Moving from that task, I then read the following prayer in my devotions today:

"This is Aidan, strong and good, who challenged all to love God more, believe,
and truly follow Him with generous heart;
and this was the message that Aidan lived,
and this was the work that Oswald loved,
the peace that Columba found, the peace of Christ,
the way that Brigid lived, the prayer that Patrick made,
the circle that Ninian dew,
the life that Martin taught,
the house that love build,
the heart that John heard,
the way that God made."

Talk about downloads! I love these kind of prayers. I love the flow of the prayer, almost as if the actions of one person, affect the next. It's almost as if the prayer is intergenerational. The focus is not so much on words (the typical blah, blah, blah kind of prayer), and instead conjurs up for me wonderful, active images of the different saints cited. These were men and women who prayed yes, but just as important, they DID things; they lived a certain way, and had they not done so, their prayer would have been mere words. Another case of cheap grace. So prayer and behavior are linked, and one effects the other. And this is just one of the reasons why I need to pray. To be better, and to do more. And I confess I'm lousy at it. Sometimes, I'll do anything to avoid finding that quiet place, and settling down. It can be a tug of war! But when I do, I am almost always grateful just to have to time to think and see things in a different way. Glory to God!