But thou wilt say that I speak too high in this matter of prayer, which indeed is no mastery nor difficulty for me to write it, but it were a great piece of mastery for a man to practise it. Thou sayest that thou canst not pray thus devoutly, nor so perfectly in heart as I speak of; for when thou wouldst have thy mind upward to God in thy prayer, thou feelest so many vain thoughts, either concerning thy own business or other men’s, with many other lets and hindrances, that thou canst neither feel savour nor rest nor devotion in thy prayers, and ofttimes the more thou strivest to keep thy heart the further it is from thee and the harder, and sometimes continues so from the beginning to the end, that thou thinkest all lost that thou dost.(John Climacus)

This morning I had to read the psalm assigned three times before I was really hearing the words. Vain thoughts kept clamoring.

But when I write, my attention is focused. Without care I may focus on me, rather than God. Still focus serves to sift out the detritus of daily life.

My prayer - mostly listening to God - is more effective when I am alone in the early morning. Otherwise I am easily distracted.

I depend on the written word: scripture, scholarship, and prophecy. I am better at reading than listening. Recognizing this, God brought me to such readings.

But while God is certainly in the readings, I encounter God most fully in this writing. Here God tugs on my ear, clasps my hand, and brings me to close.


The image is of an angel inspiring St. Matthew by Caravaggio.