Devotions based on Juliet Benner’s book, Contemplative Vision

Increased awareness of God can become a way of life for us. It can even bring us to the place of ceaseless prayer, that we are encouraged by Paul in I Thess. 5:17- 18. This unceasing prayer is unceasing openness to God as we live with an awareness of His presence in the midst of our daily lives. We are called to live in the world yet not be of it. So we need to be grounded in God and live in awareness of our relationship to Him. Jesus was grounded in relationship with the Father and He lived out of this quiet center. Juliet chooses a picture by Jean-Francois Millet ( 1814-1875) of a peasant couple in the field giving thanks and reciting the Angelus. This is based on Mary’s response to the angel who announced she would bear the Son of God. There is a church in the background and the ringing of the church bells was a call to pray and thank God for salvation.  Millet’s father always responded by praying when the bells rang.  We too need to cultivate giving our attention to God and can use other reminders as most of us don’t hear church bells several times a day. Some people lift their hearts to God each time they go through a door, or turn on a light, or when they are waiting in traffic. I love to do this when I am driving to church and often sing a prayer. Choose what works for you and let us make it a rhythm in our life to turn our attention to God throughout the day. Even though we may have trouble discerning His presence in our circumstances we can ask for help and listen and look for Him.