A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents.
by Jeanne Marie Bouvieres de la Mot Guyon.
_AUTHOR"S PREFACE._
I did not write this little work with the thought of its being given to the public. It was prepared for the help of a few Christians who were desirous of loving G.o.d with the whole heart. But so many have requested copies of it, because of the benefit they have derived from its perusal, that I have been asked to publish it.
I have left it in its natural simplicity. I do not condemn the opinions of any: on the contrary, I esteem those which are held by others, and submit all that I have written to the censure of persons of experience and learning. I only ask of all that they will not be content with examining the outside, but that they will penetrate the design of the writer, which is only to lead others to LOVE G.o.d, and to serve Him with greater happiness and success, by enabling them to do it in a simple and easy way, fit for the little ones who are not capable of extraordinary things, but who truly desire to _give themselves to G.o.d_.
I ask all who may read it, to read without prejudice; and they will discover, under common expressions, a hidden unction, which will lead them to seek for a happiness which all ought to expect to possess.
I use the word _facility_, saying that perfection is easy, because it is easy to find G.o.d, _when we seek Him within ourselves_. The pa.s.sage may be quoted which says, "Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me" (John vii. 34). Yet this need not occasion any difficulty; because the same G.o.d, who cannot contradict Himself, has said, "He that seeketh findeth"
(Matt. vii. 8). _He who seeks G.o.d, and who yet is unwilling to forsake sin, will not find Him, because he is seeking Him where He cannot be found_; therefore it is added, "Ye shall die in your sins." _But he who sincerely desires to forsake sin, that he may draw near to G.o.d, will find Him infallibly_.
Many people imagine religion so frightful, and prayer so extraordinary, that they are not willing to strive after them, never expecting to attain to them. But as the difficulty which we see in a thing causes us to despair of succeeding in it, and at the same time removes the desire to undertake it; and as, when a thing appears both desirable and easy to be attained, we give ourselves to it with pleasure, and pursue it boldly; I have been constrained to set forth the advantage and the _facility_ of this way.
Oh! if we were persuaded of the goodness of G.o.d toward His poor creatures, and of the desire which He has to communicate Himself to them, we should not imagine so many obstacles, and despair so easily of obtaining a good which He is so infinitely desirous of imparting to us.
And if He has not spared His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, is there anything He can refuse us? a.s.suredly not. We only need a little courage and perseverance. We have so much of both for trifling temporal interests, and we have none for the "_one thing needful_."
As for those who find a difficulty in believing that it is easy to find G.o.d in this way, let them not believe all that they are told, but rather let them make trial of it, that they may judge for themselves; and they will find that I say very little in comparison with that which is.
Dear reader, study this little work with a simple and sincere heart, with lowliness of mind, without wishing to criticise it, and you will find it of good to you. Receive it with the same spirit as that in which it is given, which is no other than the longing that you may be led to _give yourself unreservedly to G.o.d_. My desire is that it may be the means of leading the simple ones and the children to their Father, who loves their humble confidence, and to whom distrust is so displeasing.
Seek nothing but _the love of G.o.d_; have a sincere desire for your salvation, and you will a.s.suredly find it, following this little unmethodical method.
I do not pretend to elevate my sentiments above those of others, but I relate simply what has been my own experience as well as that of others, and the advantage which I have found in this simple and natural manner of going to G.o.d.
If this book treats of nothing else but the _short and easy method of prayer_, it is because, being written only for that, it cannot speak of other things. It is certain that, if it be read in the spirit in which it has been written, there will be found nothing in it to shock the mind. Those who will make the experience of it will be the most certain of the truth which it contains.
It is to Thee, O Holy Child Jesus, who lovest simplicity and innocence, and who findest Thy delight in the children of men, that is to say, with those amongst men who are willing to become children;--it is to Thee, I say, to give worth and value to this little work, impressing it on the heart, and leading those who read it to seek Thee within themselves, where Thou wilt take Thy rest, receiving the tokens of their love, and giving them proofs of Thine.
It is Thy work, O Divine Child! O uncreated Love! O silent Word! to make Thyself beloved, tasted, and heard. Thou art able to do it; and I even dare to say that Thou wilt do it, by means of this little work, which is all to Thee, all of Thee, and all for Thee.
A SHORT METHOD OF PRAYER.
CHAPTER I.
ALL ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY--PRAYER THE GREAT MEANS OF SALVATION, AND POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES BY THE MOST SIMPLE.
Prayer is nothing else but the _application of the heart to G.o.d_, and the interior exercise of love. St Paul commands us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v. 17). Our Lord says: "Take ye heed, watch and pray." "And what I say unto you, I say unto all" (Mark xiii. 33, 37).
All, then, are capable of prayer, and it is the duty of all to engage in it.
But I do not think that all are fit for meditation; and, therefore, it is not that sort of prayer which G.o.d demands or desires of them.
My dear friends, whoever you may be, who desire to be saved, come unto G.o.d in prayer. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich" (Rev. iii. 18). It is easily to be obtained, far more easily than you could ever imagine.
Come, all ye that are athirst, and take this water of life freely (see Rev. xxii. 17). Do not amuse yourselves by hewing out to yourselves "broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. ii. 13). Come, hungry souls, who find nothing that can satisfy you, and you shall be _filled_.
Come, poor afflicted ones, weighed down with griefs and sorrows, and you shall be comforted. Come, sick ones, to the great Physician, and do not fear to approach Him because you are so weak and diseased: expose all your diseases to Him, and they shall be healed.
Come, children, to your Father; He will receive you with open arms of love. Come, wandering and scattered sheep, to your Shepherd. Come, sinners, to your Saviour. Come, ignorant and foolish ones, who believe yourselves incapable of prayer; it is you who are the most fitted for it. Come all without exception; Jesus Christ calls you all.
Let those only refuse to come who have no heart. The invitation is not for them; for we must have a heart in order to love. But who is indeed without heart? Oh, come and give that heart to G.o.d, and learn in the place of prayer how to do it! All those who long for prayer are capable of it, who have ordinary grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is freely promised to all who ask it.
Prayer is the key of perfection and of sovereign happiness; it is the efficacious means of getting rid of all vices and of acquiring all virtues; for the way to become perfect is to live in the presence of G.o.d. He tells us this Himself: "Walk before me, and be thou perfect"
(Gen. xvii. 1). Prayer alone can bring you into His presence, and keep you there continually.
What we need, then, is an att.i.tude of prayer, in which we can _constantly_ abide, and out of which exterior occupations cannot draw us; a prayer which can be offered alike by princes, kings, prelates, magistrates, soldiers, children, artisans, labourers, women, and the sick. This prayer is not mental, but _of the heart_.
It is not a prayer of thought alone, because the mind of man is so limited, that while it is occupied with one thing it cannot be thinking of another. But it is the PRAYER OF THE HEART, which cannot be interrupted by the occupations of the mind. Nothing can interrupt the prayer of the heart but unruly affections; and when once we have tasted of the love of G.o.d, it is impossible to find our delight in anything but Himself.
Nothing is easier than to have G.o.d and to live upon Him. He is more truly in us than we are in ourselves. He is more anxious to give Himself to us than we are to possess Him. All that we want is to know the way to seek Him, which is so easy and so natural, that breathing itself is not more so.
Oh, you who imagine yourselves incapable of religious feeling, you may live in prayer and in G.o.d as easily and as continuously as you live by the air you breathe. Will you not, then, be inexcusable if you neglect to do it, after you have learned the way?
CHAPTER II.
FIRST DEGREE OF PRAYER--MEDITATION AND MEDITATIVE READING--THE LORD"S PRAYER--Pa.s.sAGE FROM THE FIRST DEGREE TO THE SECOND.
There are two means by which we may be led into the higher forms of prayer. One is _Meditation_, the other is _Meditative Reading_. By meditative reading I mean the taking of some truths, either doctrinal or practical--the latter rather than the former--and reading them in this way:--Take the truth which has presented itself to you, and read two or three lines, seeking to enter into the full meaning of the words, and go on no further so long as you find satisfaction in them; leave the place only when it becomes insipid. After that, take another pa.s.sage, and do the same, not reading more than half a page at once.
It is not so much from the amount read that we derive profit, as from the manner of reading. Those people who get through so much do not profit from it; the bees can only draw the juice from the flowers by resting on them, not by flying round them. Much reading is more for scholastic than for spiritual science; but in order to derive profit from spiritual books, we should read them in this way; and I am sure that this manner of reading accustoms us gradually to prayer, and gives us a deeper desire for it. The other way is _Meditation_, in which we should engage at a chosen time, and not in the hour given to reading. I think the way to enter into it is this:--After having brought ourselves into the presence of G.o.d by a definite act of faith, we should read something substantial, not so much to reason upon it, as to fix the attention, observing that the princ.i.p.al exercise should be the presence of G.o.d, and that the subject should rather fix the attention than exercise reason.
This _faith in the presence of G.o.d within our hearts_ must lead us to enter within ourselves, collecting our thoughts, and preventing their wandering; this is an effectual way of getting rid of distracting thoughts, and of losing sight of outward things, in order to draw near to G.o.d, who can only be found in the secret place of our hearts, which is the _sancta-sanctorum_ in which He dwells.
He has promised that if any one keeps His commandments, He will come to him, and _make His abode_ with him (John xiv. 23). St Augustine reproaches himself for the time he lost through not having sought G.o.d at first in this way.
When, then, we are thus buried in ourselves, and deeply penetrated with the presence of G.o.d within us--when the senses are all drawn from the circ.u.mference to the centre, which, though it is not easily accomplished at first, becomes quite natural afterwards--when the soul is thus gathered up within itself, and is sweetly occupied with the truth read, not in reasoning upon it, but in feeding upon it, and exciting the will by the affection rather than the understanding by consideration: the _affection_ being thus touched, must be suffered to _repose_ sweetly and at peace, _swallowing_ what it has tasted.
As a person who only masticated an excellent meat would not be nourished by it, although he would be sensible of its taste, unless he ceased this movement in order to swallow it; so when the affection is stirred, if we seek continually to stir it, we extinguish its fire, and thus deprive the soul of its nourishment. We must swallow by a _loving repose_ (full of respect and confidence) what we have masticated and tasted. This method is very necessary, and would advance the soul in a short time more than any other would do in several years.
But as I said that the direct and princ.i.p.al exercise should be the _sense of the presence of G.o.d_, we must most faithfully _recall the senses_ when they wander.
This is a short and efficacious way of fighting with distractions; because those who endeavour directly to oppose them, irritate and increase them; but by losing ourselves in the thought of a present G.o.d, and suffering our thoughts to be drawn to Him, we combat them indirectly, and without thinking of them, but in an effectual manner.
And here let me warn beginners not to run from one truth to another, from one subject to another; but to keep themselves to one so long as they feel a taste for it: this is the way to enter deeply into truths, to taste them, and to have them impressed upon us. I say it is difficult at first thus to retire within ourselves, because of the habits, which are natural to us, of being taken up with the outside; but when we are a little accustomed to it, it becomes exceedingly easy; both because we have formed the habit of it, and because G.o.d, who only desires to communicate Himself to us, sends us abundant grace, and an experimental sense of His presence, which renders it easy.
Let us apply this method to the Lord"s Prayer. We say "Our Father,"