So our friend St Ephrem the Syrian is back today in A Year with the Church Fathers. He talks to us about our "secret idols", the sins that we fall into but keep away from the view of others. He says that these are idols that we need to destroy in our lives, and that as long as we keep worshiping them, Satan is peaceful and happy in our lives. He is content in our souls as long as we are sinning. He only gets angry when we turn from our sins and try to live holy lives.
But this "happy in our soul" reminded me of something profound that I learned today from St Therese of Lisieux. I listen here regularly... I've listened to it over and over, and I learn something new every time I do. What I learned today struck me very deeply, because I've heard so many people complain of this "problem" which the Little Flower turns upside down in her wisdom.
She talks about her soul being like a little boat. And Jesus comes and travels with her in her boat. And there are times when He is content to sleep in her boat, like He did with the disciples, when the waves scared them and He calmed them. But she says that she is happy when He sleeps in her boat, and doesn't feel the need to be telling her things.
And that paints a beautiful picture of what our spiritual lives can be like. Sometimes God is here, with us, but He's silent. In those moments, rather than trying to force Him to "Speak!" like we would a dog, we should let Him just BE in our hearts, gliding along in our boat, taking a nap like Jesus did.
Many of the saints said that prayer is simply lifting our hearts to Him. Words are often unnecessary. Let's strive to enter into that kind of relationship with Him, where He can be with us here, and we can sit in His presence, free from the constraint of words.
God, thanks for teaching us about how NOT to keep demons content, but how to live contentedly with You.
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