“Continual Prayer” - Chapter 12b

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"Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ" by Madame Jeanne Guyon

Chapter 12b – “Continual Prayer”
This experience with Christ has its beginning in a simply way to pray. Gradually, though it goes on from there. The experience deepens until the fullness of grace completely stills the activity of the self. Therefore, you see why it is of the greatest importance that you remain as quieted as possible.

May I illustrate this again? When a baby is born, it draws milk from its mother’s breast by moving its lips. However once the milk begins to flow, the child simply swallows without any further effort. If the baby continued any effort, it would hurt itself, spill the milk, and have to quit nursing. This must be your attitude in prayer. You must act this same way, especially in the beginning. Draw ever so gently. But as the Lord flows out of your spirit into your soul, cease all activity.

How do you begin? By moving your lips, by stirring up the affections of your love for the Lord. As soon as the milk of divine love is flowing freely, be still—do nothing. Rather, very simply and sweetly, take in that grace and love. When this grace, this sense of the Lord’s love ceases to flow, it is time once again to stir up your affections. How? Just as the infant does by moving its lips.

All this time remain very quiet. If you bring yourself to the Lord in some other way, you will not make the best use of this grace. You see, the sense of the Lord’s presence has been given to you, by the Lord, to allure you into a restful experience of love. It goes without saying that His presence has not been given to you to stir up an activity of the self.

Let us return to the illustration of the nursing baby.

Let us say that the baby has drunk gently of the milk and has done so completely without effort. Now what happens? You would have to admit that all of us find it hard to believe that we could receive nourishment in such a passive way, as a baby receives his. And yet, look at the baby: the peaceful it nurses, the better it thrives. So I will ask the question again: What becomes of the little baby after it has nursed?

It falls asleep on its mother’s breast.

It is the same way with your soul. When the Christian has become calm and peaceful in prayer, he frequently sinks into a sort of mystical sleep; or to put it another way, the powers of his soul are completely at rest.

It is here, at this point, that you begin to be introduced to yet a deeper level of experience. The Christian now begins to touch on an experience of complete rest before the Lord.

The mind is at rest, the soul is at rest; the whole being has come to a gentle, quiet and peaceful calm before the Lord. Nothing disturbs it. At first you will experience this only occasionally, but eventually your soul will come to experience this state of rest frequently.

Be sure of this: Your soul will be led into this experience without effort, without trouble, and without skill. And all you need to do is to continue with the Lord each day, waiting for Him to deepen your experience with Him.

Let us look closer at what has just been said.

The interior life, that is, the inward life of the spirit, is not a place that is taken by storm or violence. That inward kingdom, that realm within you, is a place of peace. It can only be gained by love.

If you will simply pursue the path I have pointed out until now, you will be led to this quiet place of rest. And beyond this rest lies yet another experience—that of continual prayer.

When we speak of continual prayer, we are speaking of a prayer that originates within. It originates there and works out, filling and permeating your whole being. Nor is this a difficult matter. Actually, God demands nothing extraordinary. On the contrary, He is very pleased by a simple, childlike conduct.

I would even put it this way: The highest spiritual attainments are really the ones that are the most easily reached. The things that are most important are the things that are the least difficult!

Again, this can be illustrated in nature.

Let us say that you wish to reach the sea. How will you get there? You need to do nothing except embark upon a river. Eventually you will be carried to the sea with out any trouble, with out any self-effort.

Now would you like to go into God? Then return to the early thoughts that we presented at the beginning of this little book. Follow this sweet and simple path. Continue on it, and eventually you will arrive at your desired object. You will arrive at God and with a speed never imagined.

Then what is lacking? Nothing! You need only to make the trail effort.

If you will make that initial effort, you will find that what I have said is really far too little to express the discovery that lies ahead. Your own experience with Jesus Christ will carry you infinitely beyond even this level.

What is there for you to fear? Dear child of God, why do you not instantly cast yourself into the arms of Love?

The only reason He extended those arms on the cross was so He might embrace you. Tell me, what possible risk do you take in depending solely on God? What risk do you run by abandoning yourself completely to Him? The Lord will not deceive you (that is unless it is to bestow on you more abundance than you ever imagined). However, those who expect all of these things from the Lord by self-effort will hear the Lord’s rebuke: “you have wearied yourselves in the multiplicity of your ways, and have not said, Let us rest in peace.” (Isaiah 57:10)



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Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
Other resources on praying scripture:
“Praying The Bible” The book of prayers by Wesley & Stacy Campbell...Please feel free to share this with a friend by sending them a link. Why not e-mail me with your comments.