Week Two - "A Pure Intention of Heart"

As a recap, here is the great prayer from Elizabeth Rhodes:

"Grant me, gracious Lord, a pure intention of heart, and a steadfast regard to your glory in all my actions. Possess my mind continually with your presence, and fill it with your love, that my whole delight may be to repose in the arms of your protection. Be light to my eyes, music to my ears, sweetness to my taste, and full contentment to my heart. Be my sunshine in the day, my food at the table, my repose in the night, my clothing in company, my succor in all necessities.
Lord Jesus, I give you my body, my soul, my substance, my fame, my friends, my liberty, and my life. Dispose of me, and all that is mine, as seems best to you, and to the glory of your blessed name. I am not my own, but yours; therefore claim me as your right, keep me as your charge, and love me as your child. Fight for me when I am assailed, heal me when I am wounded, and revive me when I am destroyed.

My Lord and my God, I ask you to give me patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all my ghostly enemies. Grant me sorrow for my sins, thankfulness for my benefits, fear of your judgments, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence for evermore. Make me humble to my superiors and friendly to my equals, ready to please all and loathe to offend any; loving to my friends and charitable to my enemies. Give me modesty in my countenance, gravity in my behavior, deliberation in my speech, holiness in my thoughts, and righteousness in all my actions. Let your mercy cleanse me from my sins, and your grace bring forth in me the fruits of everlasting life.

Lord, let me be obedient without arguing, humble without feigning, patient without grudging, pure without corruption, mercy without lightness, sad without mistrust, sober without dullness, true without duplicity, fearing you without desperation, and trusting you without presumption. Let me joyful for nothing but that which pleases you, and sorrowful for nothing but what displeases you: that labor be my delight which is for you, and let all weary me that is not in you. Give me a waking spirit, and a diligent soul, that I may seek to know your will, and when I know it may I perform it faithfully to the honor and glory of your ever blessed name. Amen."

Chilcote took this prayer that is divided into four roughly equal parts and provided a theme for each section:
Part 1: Who is God to me? (first paragraph of prayer)
Part 2: What can I give to and ask of God? (second)
Part 3: How does God shape my life? (third)
Part 4: How do I live as a disciple of Christ? (fourth)

Today, we continue with part one from Chilcote.

Scripture

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" - Matthew 6:22-23

Meditation

Purity of intention characterizes the essence of the Christian life. This means that our one, singular desire is to please God in all thoughts, words, and actions. Thomas a Kempis, in his great masterpiece of Christian devotion, The Imitation of Christ, gives us a marvelous image: simplicity and purity as the two wings that lift up the soul to heaven. Simplicity relates to our intention. Purity describes our affections. Purity of heart and clarity of intention define life as God has intended it to be lived.

God's grace and activity in our lives move us to the goal of love if we do not resist their influence. Without purity of intention, all our endeavors, all our efforts will be in vain and ineffectual. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provides another metaphor to illustrate the essential characteristic of real life. He says that "the eye is the lamp of the body." The eye is to the body what the intention is to the soul. If we fix our eyes upon God - focus upon Jesus - then life will be filled with true happiness and light. Remember, however, that we cannot manufacture this singularity on our own. God's grace must accompany all our efforts to please God and to fulfill God's will in all things great and small. But that which God requires, God provides; all is then light, and our souls are lifted up to the heaven of love.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, by whose sufficient grace I lift up my heart in prayer: keep my eye focused upon you at all times, that through purity of intention I might bring honor and praise to your wonderful, glorious, and ever blessed name. Amen.

Week three next Monday!

pcraig