I think it was Frederick Buechner who said, in reply to a question as to how people can find God in today's world, that we need to pay attention. Pay attention to what is happening to you and those around you. Jesus said, "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. Mark 13.33 (New King James Version)
Paying attention to God means allowing the beauty and wonder of Creation to speak to our hearts: it means allowing the beauty and mystery of God's revelation in Christ to dwell in our heart: it means seeking, knocking, and asking: it means allowing for the answers of God to come in unexpected ways.
But it also means being attentive to the enemy, who would rob us of the day by day, minute by minute encounter with the source of all love, joy, hope, and peace.
Watch yourself with all diligence, lest the enemy steals near and robs you, depriving you of this great treasure, which is inner peace and stillness of soul. The enemy strives to destroy the peace of soul, because he knows that when the soul is in turmoil it is more easily led to evil. But you must guard your peace… An advance of the enemy is a self-reliant thought. Make it a rule to regard as clearly coming from the enemy every though which tends to decrease your conviction that all good comes from God, that you can succeed in nothing without the help of His grace.
~St Nikodemos the Hagiorite and Lorenzo Scupioli Unseen Warfare
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