{"id":5437,"date":"2010-02-04T00:01:05","date_gmt":"2010-02-04T00:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/lengthening-our-memory-6.html"},"modified":"2010-02-04T00:01:05","modified_gmt":"2010-02-04T00:01:05","slug":"lengthening-our-memory-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/lengthening-our-memory-6.html","title":{"rendered":"Lengthening Our Memory 6"},"content":{"rendered":"


<\/b>\"Pantocrator.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>Chris Hall, in Worshiping With the Church Fathers<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em>, examines the topic of prayer in the fathers and he has several chps because the topic of prayer was so central to the worship of the early fathers.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Proba, a woman, wrote a letter to Augustine asking his advice on prayer to which he responded in a letter now famous in those who study prayer. One of Augustine’s points was that she, a wealthy woman, relied too much on what she owned and that such a life detracted from a prayer life. The brevity of life and the need to embrace death are necessary ideas for Augustine and the fathers’ sense of both spirituality and worship.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Chris Hall asks how long it has been since one heard a sermon about signs of our death. So he quotes from Psalm 39:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/p>\n

39:4<\/span> “O Lord<\/span>, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life!<\/p>\n

Let me realize how quickly my life will pass!<\/p>\n

39:5<\/span> Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective.<\/p>\n

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.<\/p>\n

39:6<\/span> Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”<\/p>\n

39:7<\/span> But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying? You are my only hope!<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


\nGregory of Nyssa reflects — deeply and profoundly — on the ease of neglecting prayer time. Work and passions and laziness … but no one plans to neglect prayer.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Then back to Proba and Augustine, and Augustine probes further to see if her pursuit of happiness is genuine. He wonders if pleasure is her source of happiness and — Hall observes — rather surprisingly hopes for some desolation. Desiring only that which is truly good is the secret to happiness according to Augustine. Augustine believed knowing these things mattered in prayer … and even friendship is to be had for the sake of God. For Augustine, the ultimate aim is the vision of God.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A few more ideas from Augustine: we pray unceasingly in order to conform our desires to God’s desires, and then he examines unanswered prayer through Richard Foster and John Chrysostom, telling a story about Reba and Rachel that are worth the price of the book (and I won’t spoil it here). What he has learned is this: don’t give up.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Hall, in Worshiping With the Church Fathers , examines the topic of prayer in the fathers and he has several chps because the topic of prayer was so central to the worship of the early fathers. Proba, a woman, wrote a letter to Augustine asking his advice on prayer to which he responded in a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer-and-formation"],"yoast_head":"\nLengthening Our Memory 6 - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/02\/lengthening-our-memory-6.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lengthening Our Memory 6 - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Hall, in Worshiping With the Church Fathers , examines the topic of prayer in the fathers and he has several chps because the topic of prayer was so central to the worship of the early fathers. 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