I’m here to share the way of prayer that Father John brought into my life.
It was 25 years ago when I first came to Christian meditation. I was 17 years clean and sober in the 12-Step-Program of Alcoholics Anonymous.
And I was seeking, thirsty. Events in my life brought me to another bottom. Another place of willing to listen as only the dying can be.
It began in the 12-steps of recovery. It began with willingness, honesty, open-mindedness. And today, 42 years later, on the journey of waking up in recovery, I am still willing to listen.
As I heard Father John in the talks that he gave over the years, it was his way of pointing me, of offering a way that I was looking for. In the second and then the third step, I came to believe there’s a key, and the key is willingness. And that key will open the door to a path to a faith that works. 42 years ago, I had no idea what that meant. But I was willing to listen as only the dying could be.
And my journey went on and through the steps, the most important step for me was sought through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God as I understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out. So exactly how? How do I turn my life and my will over to the care of God? How do I do this? How to meditate?
Well, I didn’t have ears to hear, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the experience that he pointed to in simplicity, in silence and stillness. Show up, sit still, say your word. And I could do that.
17 years sober. I still didn’t know how to live. And the fear levels were raising getting higher and higher.
