Prayer For Purity Of Heart and Humility

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They seek one thing — the “summum bonum” or “greatest good” who is God himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues, because humility inclines the heart towards grace and truth.

St. Teresa of Avila tells us that she obtained her greatest graces whenever she humbled herself the most. Just as pride is the root of every sin and evil, so humility is the only soil in which the grace of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6). Only the humble in heart can receive true wisdom and understanding of God and his ways. We can have no virtue without humility. Practising virtue without humility is carrying dust against the wind. It will all blow away.

Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector

We see it in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector. The Pharisee did many good things: he fasted twice in a week; he gave one tenth of his income to the temple. But he ruined all these with his pride. The Tax-collector did many evil things. But he was forgiven for all these and made right with God because of his humble prayer.

In this prayer, Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make: He is the perfect revelation of God. One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we can know the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally.

In Jesus we see the perfect love of God

The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us personally to know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is .

In Jesus we see the perfect love of God — a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God — a God who loves us completely, unconditionally and perfectly.

Jesus also promises that God the Father will hear our prayers when we pray in his name. That is why Jesus taught his followers to pray with confidence, Our Father who art in heaven .. .. give us this day our daily bread.

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Do we pray to our Father in heaven with joy and confidence in his love and care for us?

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Today, Jesus invites us to learn humility from him. He says: “Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart.” It is especially from his Passion that we learn humility. Scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns, mocked, spat upon, and finally nailed to the cross, he died on that infamous gallows. It was to cure us of our pride. How can we look at Jesus crucified and still be proud?

Let us often look at the Crucifix and say: “Jesus meek and humble of heart, give me the child- simplicity and purity of faith to gaze upon your face with joy and confidence in your all-merciful love. Remove every doubt, fear, and proud thought which would hinder me from receiving your word with trust and humble submission.”

– – – written by Fr. Vincent Korandiarkunnel OSB

Related

Faith, Life, Thoughts

Источник: //www.turnbacktogod.com/give-me-childlike-simplicity-and-purity-of-faith/

Humility in Prayer

How to bring together your body, mind, heart and soul in prayer is not easy but not difficult as well. Why should a Muslim perform their prayer with humility, get closer to God?

Our salah needs to be constantly shielded and guarded from everything that affects its quality.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have some form of an invisible protective shield around us while we pray to keep the distractions away from us? Yes! And here’s some good news: each one of us can and should build this protective shield to guard our Salah as per the instructions given in the Qur’an and the Sunnah:

And those who strictly guard their Prayer (Al-Mu’minun 23:9)

This averse goes to show that our salah needs to be constantly shielded and guarded from everything that affects its quality.

The collective attentiveness in the actions of the heart, tongue and limbs form the basis of the khushu` protective shield.

In the first part of this article, we looked at the nature of khushu` and how it affects us both in and  salah. Now we will look at some practical steps you can take on your path to developing khushu` in your own salah.

Here are some practical tips to maintain humility in prayer:

1- Knowledge

Increase in Islamic knowledge; learn about Allah, tawheed, His Names and Attributes, and various aspects and sciences of the Sunnah. Why? Because Allah says:

It is only the learned amongst His servants who truly fear Allah. (Fatir 35:28)

With regards to gaining knowledge, even our Prophet (peace be upon him) had a teacher to understand the deen (religion) of Allah: it was Jibreel (Angel Gabriel (peace be upon him). Therefore, we must seek knowledge under the guidance of Islamic teachers and scholars.

2- On Time

Pray on time and plan your life around salah timings and not the other way around. Prioritize pleasing Allah over pleasing people. We can’t say, ’But I have work, I have to meet so-and-so etc.

’ because before all of that came about, we already knew about our salah timings; so that’s not a valid excuse. But in situations that are our control, such as an exam, try to ask the moderator if a few minutes can be allowed for salah.

That way we would have at least tried our best rather than not trying at all.

3- Seek Refuge in Allah

Seek refuge in Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) from Satan by saying  ‘a`udhu billahi min Ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem’ (I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan) before starting the salah and during the salah too when needed. Also say bismillah (in the name of Allah) before beginning the salah.

4- Be Mindful

Contemporary psychologists use a very simple technique called ’Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy‘ to help people stay focused in the present moment rather than being engrossed in foggy thoughts of past or future while losing touch with reality. It means to simply remind yourself to come back to the present moment as soon as you realize that your thoughts have drifted away from what is happening right now.

Perform every salah as you would perform your last salah.

With practice, insha’Allah we can benefit from this technique to maintain our khushu`. Start by being mindful of Allah when you make the intention for ablution; be attentive while doing the ablution; then recite the recommended du`aa’ (supplication) after completing the ablution. At all times of the day, keep away from anything that makes you forget the remembrance of Allah.

Satan will use various tricks and tactics to divert us, so we have to be aware of his methods. The moment you realize that the heart and mind have wandered off, try to bring your attention back. The more often you do this, the more your humility will improve insha’Allah.

5- Understand

Read the tafseer (exegesis) of Surat Al-Fatihah; understand each verse and pause in between. (Tafseer by Ibn Kathir is recommended.

) Remember, well-begun is half done! Read translations to understand all the surahs that you recite during salah.

Try to offer Tahajjud and recite the Qur’an during those hours of the night, as that is a good time for understanding the words of Allah.

6- Visualize

Always try to remind yourself that you are standing in front of Allah, pray as though you see Him; and if you cannot do that, then be aware that He is definitely seeing you. As you recite, visualize the Arabic words of each surah (chapter of the Qur’an). Do not close your eyes, but focus on the place of sujud (prostration).

7- Never Stop

Be wary of sticking to your salah, particularly in times of distress – it will help a lot in dealing with the situation as mentioned in the Qur’an:

Seek Allah’s help with patient perseverance and prayer. It is indeed hard except for those who are humbly submissive. (Al-Baqarah 2:45)

Help children develop their humility and concentration from a young age. Do not force them to offer salah; rather inspire them to come to salah.

8- Good Pace

To attain humility in prayer be attentive and relaxed by maintaining a good pace between salah actions, giving a minimum of 5 seconds or more per action. Every time you say ‘Allahu Akbar’, say it from your heart. Make your sujud a bit longer than usual, recite du`aa’s in it and also before the final Tasleem.

9- It Could Be the Last

Before approaching salah, remember the inevitable reality: death. Allah created us only to worship Him. Perform every salah as you would perform your last salah. We may not know when, but one day we will be praying our last one.

After each salah, develop a habit of reciting the supplications as recommended by our Prophet.

To grow humility

After reading this article and understanding what it says, it is really up to us to take a moment and step outside of our self, honestly analyze the quality of our prayer, level of our iman (faith) and the impact of these on our life as a whole. We’ll all agree that correct knowledge is absolutely lovely, but it will be of no use to anyone at all until we actually decide to implement what we now know. It is only then that knowledge becomes lovelier and in turn beautifies us from inside and out.

Do not lose hope or give up if these tips do not work at first or do not provide an immediate solution. Remember that the seed of khushu` and humility will grow only after a gentle rain of consistent reminders seep into the heart by Allah’s will.

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Source: productivemuslim.com

Источник: //www.newmuslim.net/acts-of-worship/prayers-salat/humility-in-prayer/

Prayers | Love Crucified Community / Comunidad Amor Crucificado

Prayers to Jesus

Consecration to the Precious Blood of Jesus

Merciful Savior, conscious of my nothingness and of Thy sublimity, I cast myself at Thy feet and thank Thee for the many proofs of Thy grace. I thank Thee especially for Your Cross and Precious Blood by which you revealed your infinite love, forgave our sins and gave us a share in your eternal life.

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In the presence of our Mother, Mary, my Guardian Angel, my Patron Saint and of the whole company of Heaven, I unite myself voluntarily with my whole heart and forever, O beloved Jesus, to Your Precious Blood, by which Thou has redeemed the world from sin and death.

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I promise Thee with the help of Thy grace and to the utmost of my strength to love you and thus give you my all as a victim united to you the Victim of Love at the Cross.

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I make reparation for my disloyalty towards Thy Precious Blood and make satisfaction to Thee for the many profanations which men commit against that precious price of their salvation.

I ask Thee to forget my sins and coldness, and to forgive all who offend Thee. Sprinkle us, O Divine Savior, and all with Thy Precious Blood, so that we, O Love Crucified, may love Thee from now on with all our hearts, and worthily honor the Price of our salvation. Amen.

Love Crucified Chaplet of Unity

Using the Rosary…

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Begin with..    The Apostle's Creed, Our Father and one Hail Mary

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Large Beads:   Jesus, Victim of Love, Love Crucified. For the sake of Your Precious Blood and Your                                      Mother's tears, make us ONE.

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Small Beads:   With Your Precious Blood, and Your Mother's tears…Purify our hears and make us ONE.

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Repeat (3x):     Suffer all with Me, no longer two but ONE in My Sacrifice of Love. End. Hail Holy Queen…

Give Me Child Simplicity And Purity Of Faith

By Georgy —— 4052 views

Practicing virtue without humility is carrying dust against wind.

In the Gospel according to St. Mathew 11:25-27, Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his disciples the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Jesus’ prayer tells us that God is both Father and Lord of earth as well as heaven.

He is both Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and at the same time, goodness and loving care for all his children.

Jesus’ prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us away from the love and knowledge of God. Pride is the inordinate love of oneself at the expense of others and the exaggerated estimation of one’s own learning and importance.

Intellectual pride, coldness of heart, and stubbornness of will shut out God and his kingdom. Pride is the root of all vice and the strongest influence propelling us to sin. It first vanquishes the heart, making it cold and indifferent towards God.

It also closes the mind to God’s truth and wisdom for our lives.

Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child- simplicity and humility.

The simple of heart are “little children” in the sense that they see purely without pretense and acknowledge their dependence and trust in the one who is greater, wiser, and more trustworthy.