"After a time, the soul becomes aware of a facility in recognizing the presence of God; it collects itself more easily; prayer becomes natural and pleasant; it knows that it leads to God; and it perceives the fragrance of His perfumes.
When you bring yourself into the presence of God by faith, remain a short time in an attitude of respectful silence. If from the beginning you are aware of a little taste of the presence of God, remain as you are without troubling yourself on any subject, and keep that which has been given you, so long as it may remain.
The fire must be blown softly, and as soon as it is lighted, cease to blow it, or you will put it out."
— Madame Guyon (1648–1717)✦ Cease to Blow
The early stages of prayer require effort — the blowing. Reading, meditating, the bee resting on the flower, the chewing. But there comes a moment when the fire catches. And at that moment, more effort would extinguish what has just ignited. The soul must stop doing and start being. Stop working on the presence and rest in it.
This is the transition Guyon has been building toward all week — from meditative reading to the prayer of simplicity. The method served its purpose. It lit the fire. Now the method must step aside so the fire can burn.
"The fire must be blown softly, and as soon as it is lighted, cease to blow it, or you will put it out."
— Madame Guyon · The method lights the fire. Then the method must step aside."It is also necessary that you should go to God, not so much to obtain something from Him, as to please Him, and to do His will; for a servant who only serves his master in proportion to the payment he receives is unworthy of any reward.
Go, then, to prayer, not only to enjoy God, but to be as He wills: this will keep you equal in times of barrenness and in times of abundance; and you will not be dismayed by the repulses of God, nor by His apparent indifference."
— Madame Guyon (1648–1717)Guyon reorders the purpose of prayer. Not a servant working for payment. Not a soul seeking enjoyment. A heart coming to please the One it loves. This keeps the soul equal — steady in barrenness and abundance alike — because the purpose was never the consolation. The purpose was Him.
"As God's only desire is to give Himself to the loving soul who desires to seek Him, He often hides Himself in order to arouse it, and compel it to seek Him with love and fidelity. But how does He reward the faithfulness of His beloved! And how are His apparent flights followed by loving caresses!
The soul imagines that it is a proof of its fidelity and of its increased love that it seeks God with an effort, or that at least such seeking will soon lead to His return. But no! This is not the way in this degree.
With a loving impatience, with deep humility and abasement, with an affection deep and yet restful, with a respectful silence, you must await the return of your Beloved.
You will thus show Him that it is Himself alone that you love, and His good pleasure, and not the pleasure that you find in loving Him."
— Madame Guyon (1648–1717)✦ He Hides to Arouse
Bowen's thicker shroud returns — but now from the other side. Not the trial that disguises God's hand, but the silence that tests the soul's motivation. Do you love Him for the consolation He gives? Or do you love Him? The hiding is not abandonment. It is the question that only absence can ask.
And Guyon's instruction for the dry season is not to strive harder. Not to blow the fire more vigorously. But to wait — with loving impatience, deep humility, restful affection, respectful silence. The waiting proves that it is Him you love, not the pleasure of loving Him.
"'Do not be hasty in time of trouble. Cling to Him, and do not depart, so that you may prosper at your latter end.'
Endure the suspensions and the delays of the visible consolations of God. Be patient in prayer, even though you should do nothing all your life but wait in patience, with a heart humbled, abandoned, resigned, and content for the return of your Beloved.
Oh, excellent prayer! How it moves the heart of God, and obliges Him to return more than anything else!"
— Madame Guyon (1648–1717)"Be patient in prayer, even though you should do nothing all your life but wait."
— Madame Guyon · The patience moves the heart of God more than anything else"The closet is always with you no matter where you are or how many people are around you."
Matthew 6:6 — the secret room. The interior closet. The holy of holies within. It travels with the motorhome. It packs no boxes. It needs no address in Brittany. It is always present because He is always within. Seven days of Guyon have been walking toward this room — from the heart applied to God, past the bee on the flower, through the chewing and the swallowing, into the silence between the words of the Lord's Prayer, and now into the prayer of simplicity where the fire burns on its own and the soul simply waits.
Cease to Blow
The fire must be blown softly. Once lit, stop blowing or you will extinguish it. The method lights the fire. Then the method steps aside. Being replaces doing.
He Hides to Arouse
The apparent absence tests the motivation. Do you love Him or the consolation? The dry season is not abandonment — it is the question only silence can ask. Wait with loving impatience.
The Closet Within
The secret room of Matthew 6:6. It travels with you. It needs no address. It is always present because He is always within. Seven days of Guyon have been walking toward this room.