Chariots of Fire (Chapter 10) (Wednesday in the fourth week of Lent)
PAUSE
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly to recenter my scattered senses upon the presence of God.
(pause)
I pray Psalm 27: 13-14, repeating the words slowly, several times:
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
REFLECT
Bible: When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6: 15-17)
Book passage: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils,” observed C. S. Lewis. “One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”* (p. 140)
*C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (London: Fount, 1986), 9.
ASK
Ask myself: Am I inclined to be a bit over-sensitive to spiritual powers – perhaps blaming them for everything – or a bit oblivious of them instead? How might it affect my prayers and my choices if I lived today with a much greater awareness of the angelic realm? Ask the Lord: Open my eyes, Lord, as You opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant, to perceive the spiritual realm. Thank You for the wonderful reassurance we have that, while in the present warfare may be vicious, the ultimate war has been well and truly won.
YIELD
A prayer of the eighteenth century soldier, explorer, and monk, Charles de Foucauld:
Father, I abandon myself into Your hands; do with me what You will. Whatever You may do, I thank You: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only Your will be done in me, and in all Your creatures – I wish no more than this, 0 Lord.
Amen
