Open Living
We too can be open to God (p37)
Stephen Cottrell suggests this may be what Paul means when he says,
17 Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
being open to God, not just when we feel like it, or remember, but all the time, receiving the energy we need.
A flower doesn’t open up its petals just when it is feeling tired, or in need of sunshine, it is always wide open, “constantly replenishing”.
Prayer can so easily become a burden if it’s something we feel we “have to do”, something to be “got on with”. But what if we can live our lives in a reaching out to God? In an openness to what he is giving and saying and doing? Again moving away from the “shopping list”, and just spending time “being” with God. Perhaps that is something that can be done constantly. Living openly, being open to God, that the whole of our life might be, as Cottrell says, prayer-full.
Lord,
I open myself to you
as a way of living;
spending time with you
soaking up your life,
your love,
your peace;
hearing your voice;
being replenished
in and through you
This year for Lent, I am reading Christ in the Wilderness by Bishop Stephen Cottrell, published by SPCK, reflecting on Stanley Spencer’s paintings of that title.
I’m not necessarily going to blog every day on it, just when something leaps out at me – and they will be thoughts rather than full blog posts
Pam's Perambulation 
actually harder when tired or in need of sunshine… tend to close in on myself then. Thanks for the gentle reminder that maybe that isn’t always the best solution…