Prayers and Meditations, St. Anselm

Almighty God, merciful Father, and my good Lord... give me heart-piercing goodness and humility; discerning abstinence and mortification of the flesh. Help me to love you and pray to you, praise you and meditate upon you. May I act and think in all things according to your will, purely, soberly, devoutly, and with a true and effective mind. Let me know your commandments, and love them, carry them out readily, and bring them into effect. Always, lord, let me go on with humility to better things and never grow slack.

Prayers and Meditations, St. Anselm

We have a reader that is a part of the "Common Text Project." The concept is that those participating in the Asbury community would regularly be spending time meditating on the same scripture and other devotional material. I really enjoy interacting with the reader. I think the team that puts it together really impacts the spiritual direction of the campus.

This prayer was a part of the reading for today. I don't think I've ever read it before, and it struck me with an attitude of significant abandonment. St. Anselm is casting off all that distracts from Christ, and clinging to that which draws him into that relationship. I love the fullness of St. Anselm's devotion to the Lord. Clearly, this is a prayer of someone interested in a comprehensively integrated life of faith. He considers prayer an opportunity for reverence. Sometimes the pendulum swings in different perspectives. Our current generation has a familiarity with God in prayer that is beautiful and adds to the Kingdom of God. However, I can't help but wonder if we have lost the reverence in which prayer has been experienced in years past.

Soundtrack: In the Secret