February 19 – Called to Humility

In his unmatched little volume, Humility, Andrew Murray writes, “this humility is not a thing that will come of itself, but that it must be made the object of special desire and prayer and faith and practice.”

As with all great writers whose works impact our lives by the Spirit and grace of God, we know that this man chose his words with precision. Special desire . . . prayer . . . faith . . . practice. There are likely thousands of monastics in the world who do not know that Brother Murray has defined that mystery which is their “calling” and vocation. What we know in Cor Unum is that it is for that fourfold purpose that we have come together, and in those pursuits, we are a house of devotion.

We have not surrendered our special desire, which he calls the ground and root of humility, to leave every vestige of hateful and dangerous pride behind and to be distinguished just as Jesus was, by meekness and lowliness of heart. We have failed, and all to commonly, but we have not surrendered that desire and hope.

We have entered into prayer as the capsule that will take us to that place of knowing, believing, guarding, hoping, testing, seeing, trusting, and doing as Jesus did. We are more certain than ever that without faith, it is impossible for ceaseless prayer to please Him. Prayer, for us, is relational, worshipful, grateful, and purposeful.

Without practice, our very prayers could carry us back into pride. What we hear we must do; what we see, we must believe and live out. What we hope, we must not relinquish. Otherwise, our God becomes to us one whom we have considered and judged, whether He is Majesty and Sovereign . . . or not.

We said yesterday that our devotional lives are being resisted, and that by the world, our flesh, and the devil. When we acknowledge the desire of our hearts, that we shall walk with God, and when by prayer and faith and practice we choose so to do, our resistance is in place and our devotion keeps it vibrant, and with the true result that, in our humble practice … the devil will flee from us.


Monastery - La Grande Chartreuse
by permission