Today I had a lovely prayer walk on a road that no one has walked on since the latest snowfall. The sun was shining through the trees that were all frosted white and was breathtaking!  I saw so many animal tracks and even though I didn’t see the actual animals I know they are there. Often times that is how it is with the Lord as we can’t see Him physically, but He is there and with us. Some times the tracks were just that of just one deer and often times there were all sorts of them together, reminding me of our life with the Lord…sometimes in secret with Him and other times with many of His children, all fellowshipping together.

 Devotions from Haase’s book, Living the Lord’s Prayer

I like what Thomas Merton said: “The whole Christian life is a life in which the further a person progresses, the more he has to depend directly on God and it’s not the other way around at all…..The more we progress, the less we are self-sufficient. The more we progress, the poorer we get so that the man who has progressed most, is totally poor – he has to depend directly on God. He’s got nothing left in himself.

Thomas Merton also said there are two ways of spiritual formation. One is in response to God’s gifts and graces. It’s when we are in control and take charge and are taken up with external actions…like going to church, reading the scriptures, saying our prayers, fasting etc.  The second way is more contemplative and more childlike. It is simply to wait on the Lord, expect the Lord, and then abide in the Lord. The first approach can only take us so far and later we must surrender control, become receptive and have the humility to be led. “The willingness to be led by God shows the maturity and humility of the way of spiritual childhood.”