Words of Light and Hope from Tony Hawes

Christ the King.
When I was confirmed in 1953 I was given a small book of prayers entitled, “Before the Throne.” It was quite helpful, but for me, too many words. When praying, I  appreciate silence and stillness. Just sitting in an empty church, or kneeling at the altar rail with it’s “lingering Presence”, when “I look at Him, and He looks at me.”
Sometimes I wonder if I should have been a Quaker!

What follows are extracts from the Advices and Queries of Quaker faith and practice:-

Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. Trust them as leadings of God whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life……

Bring the whole of your life under the ordering of the spirit of Christ. Are you open to the healing power of God’s love? Cherish that of God within you, so that this love may grow in you and guide you. Let your worship and your daily life enrich each other. Treasure your experience of God, however it comes to you. Remember that Christianity is not a notion but a way……

Do you try to set aside times of quiet for openness to the Holy Spirit? All of us need to find a way into silence which allows us to deepen our awareness of the divine and to  find the inward source of our strength. Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid the activities of daily life. Do you encourage in yourself and in others a habit of dependence on God’s guidance for each day? Hold yourself and others in the Light, knowing that all are cherished by God. Remember that each one of us is unique, precious, a child of God……

We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures, and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendour of God’s continuing creation.

Come, Lord, and rule in our hearts, until your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.