Academic & Spiritual Disciplines in Augustine's "Confessions"

Augustine’s Confessions consists in a blend of honest personal narrative, serious intellectual inquiry, and heartfelt devotional prayer. From the first to the last line of this classic work, he addresses himself to God. The entire book, in which Augustine tells the story of his conversion to Christ and engages in profound and extensive theological and philosophical reflection, takes the form of a prayer to his Lord. Augustine believed the study of academic disciplines can be regularly, deliberately, and explicitly combined with the practice of the spiritual discipline of prayer. As a result, both his mind and his heart are transformed.

Home is Where the Lord Is

In In the House of the Lord, Henri Nouwen writes, “Prayer is the most concrete way to make our home in God.” The more we practice the discipline of prayer, the more we experience our home as being in God and with God. If we pray regularly and deeply we will never really be homeless, and we will always be at home wherever we are. This ubiquity of our divine home is due, not only to God’s omnipresence, but also to God’s Son, Immanuel, having pitched his tent with us and having prepared an eternal place for us with God.

Running With Jesus

When I was a teen I read Malcolm Boyd’s book of prayers, Are You Running With Me Jesus?. Malcolm’s conversations with Jesus, recorded in the 60s, are honest and countercultural. I appreciated his informal way of talking to God. His title question suggests uncertainty; it could also be taken to imply that the run is Malcolm’s rather than Jesus’s (though the prayers suggest otherwise). Today I ask, “Am I running with you, Jesus?” I’m surer now that Jesus is running in this world, and I realize I’m often running in a different direction. But I would rather run with Jesus.