Since I encountered it, I have not gone past Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy - for a Catholic he provided language which lucidly exposed the meaning of so much Christian living in and in relation to the Triune. His rewording of the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm in the context of the ever presence of the kingdom of the heavens is still resonating years later.
Thanks, I took a look at Willard’s paraphrases of the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 just now. I hadn’t seen those before. You can sense his desire to be very near to God. One minor detail I’ll offer. I think Willard was Protestant, although he was respected and appreciated far beyond that fold.
I think any phrase that’s repeated enough can become cliché, overused & lack value to others. Even “praying the Bible,” which could become another cliché itself. Serving overseas where English was a 2nd or 3rd language for people, I had to learn to “hear” what people meant with their learned “Christianese” phrases. I needed to listen to their heart while they spoke in my language (bcuz I was ignorant of theirs).
As I commented before, I think a lot of these phrases we use are meaningful to certain generations or groups, but maybe not so much for ourselves. Then we need to listen to the person’s heart beyond their words. George Mueller (famous missionary to England in 19th C) would pray with his Bible open on his lap. I don’t know that he used the expression used now, but he certainly practiced “praying the Scriptures.”
I think you are spot on about learning to hear people’s hearts. A person may use a common Christian phrase, even a cliche, and it can still express a deep love of the Lord.
Since I encountered it, I have not gone past Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy - for a Catholic he provided language which lucidly exposed the meaning of so much Christian living in and in relation to the Triune. His rewording of the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm in the context of the ever presence of the kingdom of the heavens is still resonating years later.
Thanks, I took a look at Willard’s paraphrases of the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 just now. I hadn’t seen those before. You can sense his desire to be very near to God. One minor detail I’ll offer. I think Willard was Protestant, although he was respected and appreciated far beyond that fold.
Good word & encouragement, David!
I think any phrase that’s repeated enough can become cliché, overused & lack value to others. Even “praying the Bible,” which could become another cliché itself. Serving overseas where English was a 2nd or 3rd language for people, I had to learn to “hear” what people meant with their learned “Christianese” phrases. I needed to listen to their heart while they spoke in my language (bcuz I was ignorant of theirs).
As I commented before, I think a lot of these phrases we use are meaningful to certain generations or groups, but maybe not so much for ourselves. Then we need to listen to the person’s heart beyond their words. George Mueller (famous missionary to England in 19th C) would pray with his Bible open on his lap. I don’t know that he used the expression used now, but he certainly practiced “praying the Scriptures.”
I think you are spot on about learning to hear people’s hearts. A person may use a common Christian phrase, even a cliche, and it can still express a deep love of the Lord.
🌐⛪♥️ Lectio Divina! 🕯️📿 📖