FRIDAY, August 28 (Augustine of Hippo)

Francis de Sales is reported to have said, "When you are not too busy, pray for a half hour every day; when you are too busy, pray for one hour every day."

What shapes your prayer life: necessity, danger, sickness, stress, need, praise, adoration, longing for God, inspiration, all of the above? People pray for many reasons. I have often observed that there has been prayer in schools ever since there have been pop quizzes.

Jesus asks his disciples to pray with him in his final hours, and they fall asleep. Perhaps they were tired. Perhaps they didn't want to think about what was coming. Perhaps they were afraid. Perhaps they were oblivious. In any event, they did not pray with Jesus.

Christians enter into the prayers and life of Jesus and ask him to enter into ours. Prayer is watching with Jesus, staying awake to the challenges and callings of his life and love. Sleepers, awake!

When you pray, you are not starting the conversation from scratch, just remembering to plug back into a conversation that's always in progress.

-Anne Lamott

PRAY for the Diocese of Shyogwe (Rwanda) 

Ps 16, 17 * 22; 1 Kings 5:1-6:1,7; Acts 28:1-16

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