Beholding God Everywhere
Friday, May 22, 2026
I say, “I am here, I am here” to people who do not even invoke my name.
—Isaiah 65:1
Father Richard views each moment as an opportunity to practice contemplation, to see things as they are, and to receive the gift of divine presence.
The real gift of contemplative practice is to be happy and content, even while we are simply sitting on the porch, looking at a rock, or benevolently gazing at anything in its ordinariness. When we can see, accept, and say that every single act of creation is “just this,” we allow it to work its wonder on us.
So go learn, enjoy, and rest in inner contentment and positivity—a full reservoir of fresh water, both before what feels like success and after what we might experience as failure. Then we have the treasure that no one can take from us or give to us. We will be ready to be captured by many moments of awe—and we will be capable of the surrender that brings both foundational union and joy.
Remember, the whole process most often begins by one, long, relished moment of awe, one fully sincere moment of beholding anything and saying, “Just this!” And, as Isaiah promised, we will know that every moment is shouting, “I am here! I am here!” [1]
Spiritual writer Amy Frykholm acknowledges that while contemplation may sound simple, the practice of “beholding” anything takes desire and discipline.
Let’s be clear, though, contemplation of any object, person, idea, or being is much more difficult than it sounds. First of all, we face the difficulty of sitting down for beholding at all…. Don’t underestimate the paradigm shift required for the act of beholding, just how different it is from our everyday lives and just how shiny and compelling our everyday life will seem when we propose pausing for some time beholding. In our society, we talk frequently about the pull of technology, … but the problem we are describing is much older in nature than our cell phones.
If we are able to get ourselves situated for beholding, we will notice the next difficulty arising: We are constantly being taken out of presence by our own thoughts…. Any act of attention is not a sustained experiencing. It’s a series of successive efforts to bring attention back to the same thing, considering it again and again. This kind of encounter is a series of repeated acts of will. We gradually train our attention to encounter, discovering its fruits in slow and subtle movements over time. Whatever you behold, you eventually become beholden to. You enter into a love relation. You recognize your own dependence on the created world, the way that you are held, even as you are holding.
And sometimes grace carries us away, and we glimpse, maybe even for several seconds at a time, the whole interconnected, openhearted world … welcomes us. [2]
References:
[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Just This (CAC Publishing, 2017), 24, 25.
[2] Amy Frykholm, Journey to the Wild Heart (Orbis Books, 2025), 28–30.
Never Stop Praying!
SCRIPTURE READING — 1 SAMUEL 12:19-25
“Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.”
MAY 22, 2026
When I was in my twenties and going through some hard times, I asked my mother to pray for me. She said, “Do you mean, in addition to the prayers that began before your birth and have not ceased to this day?” I hadn’t realized that my mom prayed so fervently for me, and that was humbling.
Samuel prayed persistently for God’s people, and we do well to follow that example.
Are you a persistent and fervent pray-er? I can’t think of anything we can do that is more pleasing to God and useful to others than prayer.
Silent, or internal, prayer is a miracle brought about by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Through the voice of the Spirit, who comes to live within us, our thoughts are heard by the triune God. We can think with and talk to God about anything, at any time, and in any place. Through our thoughts we can connect with the most powerful being in the universe, who loves us more than any other. We don’t even need an introduction; God already knows us intimately.
If you are looking for a dialogue with God, turn to Scripture, read a few verses, and pray whatever comes to mind. Any fears, worries, and wrongs you have done can be laid at God’s feet and forgotten.
Samuel and my mother were fervent and faithful pray-ers. Knowing that God loves us so much, how can we not pray?
O God, we come to you in prayer through the work of your Spirit in us. We know that you hear us. Guide us to pray faithfully. Please fill us with your grace and peace each day. Amen.
Kent Van Til
Kent Van Til was a missionary in Costa Rica. He taught theological ethics both there and in the USA. He is the author of four books. The most recent is a spiritual biography of his grandmother entitled, “A Name for Herself: A Dutch Immigrant’s Story.” Kent likes to fish, hunt, make music, and entertain his grandchildren.
