The Prayer-filled Life
Sacred Pursuit: The Contemplative Tradition
Elizabeth de Smaele
The Prayer-filled Life kicked off a sermon series based upon Richard Foster's book, Streams of Living Water. In The Sacred Pursuit, the Crossroads Amsterdam teaching team looked at the six major traditions which flow throughout church history and the potential enrichment each of them offers for our spiritual journeys.
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The Prayer-filled Life is rooted in the contemplative tradition which emphasizes the pursuit of an intimate, heart-level relationship with God. In this, one of my strongest sermons, I give a biblical and historical perspective for this tradition and look at the fruit (and the perils) of committing to this path
I also take a practical look at how to go about pursuing intimacy with God, as I unpack the following suggestions:
- Create space for God in your life
- Practice prayer as a conversation which God begins
- Practice prayer as a conversation which carries on throughout the day
Inspirational quotes for the prayer-filled life
Pedro Arrupe's Falling in Love
Sören Kierkegaard's To Will One Thing
The basis of this sacred pursuit is God's own initiation of a relationship of love. Throughout Scripture the Lord proclaims his love for his people and invites as response. As our service ended we handed out bookmarks to remind our community of this invitation, with Pedro Arrupe's Falling in Love on on one side and one Scriptural invitation to respond to God's love was on the other.
Scriptural invitations to a relationship of love
"I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love." Jesus (John 15:9, The Message)
Long ago the Lord said to Israel,
"I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. The Prophet Jeremiah (Jer 31:3 NLT)
"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." The Apostle Paul (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" The Apostle John (1 John 3:1)
"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David." The Lord (Isaiah 55:3)
"How exquisite your love, O God! How eager we are to run under your wings, To eat our fill at the banquet you spread as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water. You're a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light." King David (Psalm 36:7-9, The Message)
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