Augustine was one of the most   brilliant Christian thinkers of all time. Interestingly he did some of his most effective and intimate praying while engaged in deep thought. He was what might be called a ‘prayerful thinker’. Often Augustine began a line of reasoning and then concluded it with a prayer. Here is a sample from Confessions, one of his works on theology:

“Too late came I to love You, O Beauty both ancient and ever new; too late came I to love You. . . . You called to me; yes, You even broke open my deafness. Your beams shined unto me and cast away my blindness.”

These are not the dry musings of some pseudo-theologian or armchair philosopher. They are the thoughts of someone with a passionate prayer life.

Prayerful thinking is not unique to Augustine. David pondered the beauty of creation and felt compelled to worship his Creator: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him?” (Ps. 8:3-4).

As we go through life our deep thoughts and feelings and our praying can be interwoven. Seeing the beauty of nature or even solving a problem can be opportunities for prayerful thinking.

Prayerful thinking leads to purposeful thanking.

Author

Dennis Fisher

Topics

Our Daily Bread