Nouwen Quotes on Prayer

"Praying pervades every aspect of our lives. It is the unceasing recognition that God is wherever we are, always inviting us to come closer and to celebrate the divine gift of being alive." (Pg. 40)

"Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly." (Pg. 153)

"As long as we are afraid of God we cannot love God. The greatest block in the spiritual life is fear." (Pg. 167)

"Love - deep, human love - does not know death....Real love says, 'Forever.' Love will always reach out toward the eternal." (Pp. 187-188)

From The Only Necessary Thing: Living A Prayerful Life
(Selected Writings of Henri J.M. Nouwen compiled and edited by Wendy Wilson Greer (Crossroad, 1999)

Reflections from Kevin Young On Shoulders Of The Shepherd
The Only Necessary Thing
The phrase kept churning in my mind until I couldn’t dismiss it any longer. It’s the title of a book on prayer written by Henry Nouwen, one of the best on the subject. I pondered his thesis; the four simple words of the title.
“The”—the one elevated above all;
“Only” set apart in it’s priority over every other;
“Necessary”—needed as distinguished from want or desire;
“Thing”—the stuff our lives consist of.
What Nouwen has tried to tell us, is that many things are part of our life in Christ, but only one has ‘indispensable’ stamped on it. Why? If you take the time to consider the nature of prayer, you’ll discover that it’s essence sits at the nucleus of our spiritual vitality. We can’t put the Word in practice without prayer. We can’t obey God’s will without first discerning it in prayer. We can’t step out beyond our fears, without knowing an invisible hand stretches out to grasp ours and pull us onward—through prayer. Prayer reduces the ambiguity of the untested and uncertain to faith in God’s resources. Prayer feeds intimacy with God, simply because prayer is being with Him. Prayer lets God know in every way possible, that we surrender, each time we bow our knees.