The Three Essential Movements in the Life of Every Christian

Part I - The inward journey

Seeking the Transformation We Need

To pray is to change. This is a great grace. How good of God to provide a path whereby our lives can be taken over by love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and self-control.

The movement inward comes first because without interior transformation the movement up into God's glory would overwhelm us and the movement out into ministry would destroy us.

Nothing is more crucial to our lives or more central to the heart of God than the transformation of the human personality. Paul, that great advocate of human transformation, once spoke of being 'in travail until Christ be formed in you' (Gal. 4:19 RSV). And in another letter he says, 'those whom God foreknew them he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son' (Rom. 8:29). We must see it as our highest, most holy task - this being formed and conformed and transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately there is an abysmal ignorance today about the most elemental spiritual ingredients involved in character formation.

A disciple once came to Abba Joseph saying 'Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, my little fast, and my little prayer. And according as I am able I strive to cleanse my mind of all evil thoughts and my heart of all evil intents. Now, what more should I do?' Abba Joseph rose up and stretched out his fingers to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He answered, 'Why not be totally changed into fire?'

Richard J. Foster, Prayer - Finding the Heart's True Home, London. Publisher, 1992, p.5

The deepest desire of our hearts is for union with God. From the first moment of our existence our most powerful yearning is to fulfil the original purpose of our lives - 'to see him more clearly, to love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly.' We are made for God, and nothing less will really satisfy us.
Brennan Manning