Prayer & Praise
A Jane Austen Devotional
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50 messages inspired by her prayers and
illustrated by her celebrated characters
By Shannon Winslow
A Heather Ridge Arts Publication
Copyright 2019 by Shannon Winslow
www.shannonwinslow.com
All Rights Reserved.
Except for brief quotations, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.
Every effort has been made to preserve the integrity of the Jane Austen extracts used in this volume, which includes retaining her original spelling, syntax, and grammatical construction.
Jane Austen’s prayers and novels are in the public domain. The Jane Austen characters and events referred to in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real people, living or dead, is coincidental.
Scripture quotes used in this volume are taken from The New International Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Hymns referenced herein reside in the public domain.
Cover design by Micah D. Hansen. Original cover art by Shannon Winslow. Source photo of St. Nicholas Church, Chawton, used by the generous permission of Joana Starnes.
Soli Deo Gloria
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Prayer One: On Each Return of the Night
1) Praying from the Heart
2) No Secrets
3) Sincere Repentance
4) Faults in Every Disposition
5) Dangerous Minds
6) Holy and Awesome God
7) Loaves and Fishes
8) Pride and Vanity
9) Gratitude and Contentment
10) A Most Fortunate Creature
11) Armor On
12) Thank God!
13) Bon Voyage
14) Bestowing Crowns
15) Mercy in Redemption
16) Captivated
17) A Goodly Heritage
18) In Name Only
19) Teach Us to Pray
Prayer Two: (Untitled)
20) Masters and Servants
21) By Special Invitation
22) Confession: Good for the Soul
23) Sins Forgotten
24) The Rutted Road
25) Creatures of Dust
26) Thorns and Blessings
27) Fatherly Goodness
28) Comforts and Character
29) Eternal Perspective
30) Light and Shadows
31) Love and Friendship
32) Eye on the Sparrow
33) A Body United
34) Perfect Mediator
Prayer Three: Another Day Gone
35) An Ounce of Wisdom
36) Time’s a-Wastin’
37) Using Talents
38) Highest Example
39) Choicest Gift of Heaven
40) Playing Favorites
41) Love Divine
42) Good Balance
43) Getting Our Just Deserts
44) The Accomplished Lady
45) Sheep and Turkeys
46) Blessed Rest
47) Seeing the Truth
48) Ambassadors of Comfort
49) Running the Race
50) Happy Ending Secured
Postscript
About the Author
Introduction
I have always been intrigued by Jane Austen’s spiritual side. She lived in a very different time and culture, but was her experience of faith similar nonetheless? Did she go beyond the expected exercise of religion to a personal commitment to Christ?
We know she was raised in a Christian home, the daughter of a (by all accounts) dedicated Anglican minister, as well as having two brothers belonging to the profession. She no doubt attended church nearly every Sunday of her life. Still, that didn’t prove sincere faith then any more than it does now.
I suppose an argument could even be made to the contrary. For example, we see very few overtly Christian sentiments expressed in her novels. In fact, some of the portraits she draws of clergymen are quite unflattering. And darker examples of her razor-sharp wit (especially some preserved in her personal letters) might even be called caustic or irreverent.
However, it would be a mistake to conclude from these instances that Jane Austen didn’t take her faith seriously. Being a Christian doesn’t mean forfeiting a sense of humor, and not every pastor is a shining example. This may have been especially true in Jane Austen’s day when many took up the profession for the wrong reason – as a convenient means of making a genteel living rather than in answer to a true calling from God.
As for Jane Austen’s novels, although they are stories written from a Christian perspective, upholding Christian beliefs and values, they would not qualify for today’s “Christian Fiction” genre. Indeed, in Austen’s society, where church attendance and allegiance to the Christian faith were the norm, not the exception, there would have been no need to make a point of declaring the gospel message in every book, no reason for what is now a separate and distinct category of fiction. This fact explains a great deal.
Here and there in Austen’s novels, however, we do catch a glimpse of something that might be construed as a reflection of Austen’s personal beliefs. We notice the “God bless you” at the close of Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth, for example, and the many occasions where God’s name is invoked in crisis or in thanksgiving. Perhaps the clearest example appears in Mansfield Park. There Austen uses Mary Crawford’s critical, even ridiculing, attitude toward elements of faith as one means of revealing to the reader that lady’s faulty character. By contrast, Austen’s heroine Fanny Price is reverent, honorable, and chaste – a much better candidate for an Austen-style heroine and a more suitable choice of marriage partner for future clergyman Edmund.
For the most convincing evidence of Jane Austen’s sincere and abiding personal faith, however, we must look beyond her novels, which are, after all, not autobiography but fiction. We must look to how she faced death without fear, asking for prayer and making a point of receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion before the end. And we must look to her prayers.
No one knows how many eloquent prayers the authoress may have composed in her lifetime. We have only three rather lengthy examples remaining to us. But every line within each one is a miniature prayer in itself, worthy of pausing for further reflection.
That’s how this devotional developed. After considering each of Jane Austen’s surviving prayers as a whole, I broke them down into a total of fifty individual petitions, allowing each one to inspire a separate message with illustrations from Austen’s novels, and accompanied by prayer and praise. Take one meditation per day or go at your own pace. I hope you will be as richly blessed in reading them as I have been by answering the call to write them. These prayers held lessons that I needed to learn as much as or more than anybody else.
Warmly,
Shannon Winslow
Postscript: In these devotional segments, I speak of Jane Austen’s characters as if they are real people with real thoughts and experiences. Jane Austen drew them so true to life (part of her genius), and I have spent so much time in their company that they are like old friends to me. Perhaps you feel much the same way. In any case, for our purposes here, the lines between fact and fiction can be safely discarded in favor of what these characters and their stories can teach us by illustrating Biblical principles.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)
Prayer One
On Each Return of the Night
Give us grace, Almighty F
ather, so to pray, as to deserve to be heard, to address thee with our Hearts, as with our lips. Thou art every where present, from Thee no secret can be hid. May the knowledge of this, teach us to fix our Thoughts on Thee, with Reverence & Devotion that we pray not in vain.
Look with Mercy on the Sins we have this day committed, & in Mercy make us feel them deeply, that our Repentance may be sincere, and our resolutions stedfast of endeavouring against the commission of such in future. Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own Hearts, and bring to our knowledge every fault of Temper and every evil Habit in which we may have indulged to the dis-comfort of our fellow-creatures, and the danger of our own Souls.
May we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent by us, what have been our prevailing Thoughts, Words, and Actions during it, and how far we can acquit ourselves of Evil. Have we thought irreverently of Thee, have we dis-obeyed thy Commandments, have we neglected any known Duty, or willingly given pain to any human Being? Incline us to ask our Hearts these questions Oh! God, and save us from deceiving ourselves by Pride or Vanity.
Give us a thankful sense of the Blessings in which we live, of the many comforts of our Lot; that we may not deserve to lose them by Discontent or Indifference.
Be gracious to our Necessities, and guard us, and all we love, from Evil this night. May the sick and afflicted, be now, & ever thy care; and heartily do we pray for the safety of all that travel by Land or by Sea, for the comfort & protection of the Orphan and Widow, & that thy pity may be shewn upon all Captives and Prisoners.
Above all other blessings Oh! God, for ourselves, & our fellow-creatures, we implore Thee to quicken our sense of thy Mercy in the redemption of the World, of the Value of that Holy Religion in which we have been brought up, that we may not, by our own neglect, throw away the Salvation Thou hast given us, nor be Christians only in name. Hear us Almighty God, for His sake who has redeemed us, & taught us thus to pray.
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Praying from the Heart
Give us grace, Almighty Father, so to pray, as to deserve to be heard, to address thee with our Hearts, as with our lips…
When you think of disingenuous people, most likely no shortage of candidates spring to mind. The same is true among Jane Austen’s characters. In Persuasion, we have the suave Mr. Elliot, whose manners are impeccable and behavior correct, at least on the surface. But later we discover it’s only an act. There’s General Tilney in Northanger Abbey, who conspicuously courts Catherine Morland for his younger son when he thinks she’s rich, then unceremoniously boots her out of the house when he learns she is not. Sense and Sensibility may contain the “finest” examples of hypocrisy, however: Lucy Steel pretending to be Elinor’s friend, Willoughby setting out to intentionally entangle Marianne’s heart, and Mr. John Dashwood.
John Dashwood: here’s a man who, at his father’s deathbed, made a solemn promise to help his sisters only to be talked out of lifting a finger for them later. His wife Fanny may seem the villain, but more guilt falls on her husband’s side because it was his responsibility. He’s the one who made the promise. He knew what was right and had the comfortable means of doing it. Even if he hadn’t promised his father, he would have been morally obligated to assist his relatively impoverished relations. But obviously his promise didn’t go much further than lip service and a fleeting intention of doing the right thing. He never pledged his heart to it. And when he met with opposition in the form of his wife’s persuasion, he found it easiest, most convenient, and least expensive to renege.
This argument was irresistible. It gave to his intentions whatever of decision was wanting before; and he finally resolved, that it would be absolutely unnecessary, if not highly indecorous, to do more for the widow and children of his father, than such kind of neighbourly acts as his own wife pointed out. (Sense and Sensibility, chapter 2)
We see Mr. John Dashwood’s behavior toward his stepmother and sisters as reprehensible. However, are we sometimes in danger of treating God in much the same way, of making promises we don’t keep? Perhaps we fall short of giving our full tithe when bills need to be paid or we’d rather spend the money on other things. Perhaps we embark on a course of daily Bible study with good intentions only to give it up when life gets too busy. During worship or prayer, we might sometimes find ourselves simply going through the motions, reciting well-known words or singing familiar songs by rote, our minds and our hearts not truly engaged.
Fortunately, God is gracious. He will forgive our lapses when we ask. And yet he is a jealous god. He is not satisfied with lukewarm faith or half-hearted worship (Revelation 3:15-16, Joel 2:12-13). He doesn’t desire prayers that are mere lip service. It is our hearts he wants – our whole hearts – in our worship, in our everyday lives, and especially in prayer.
Prayer is the channel God has chosen through which to bless his people and accomplish spiritual work. As such, it is absolutely vital to healthy Christian life. God also promises us it is effective (James 5:16). He does not promise it is easy, however, nor should we expect it to be. Prayer is often a battleground, the place where spiritual warfare is either won or lost. The enemy would have us give up the struggle when it gets difficult. He would have us avoid wrestling in prayer altogether or to fall asleep before the work is done, as the disciples did in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:40). Like them, we will often succumb to the enemy’s tactics if we rely only on ourselves.
So how are we to overcome the opposition and our own weak natures in order to persevere in praying to our Heavenly Father with our whole hearts? It is possible only by God’s grace, as Jane Austen acknowledges in this opening to her prayer. He can give us the grace to address him with our hearts, not just our lips. In fact, the entire Trinity stands ready to assist us.
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not now how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27, NAS)
How reassuring that the acceptability of our prayers doesn’t depend on our limited spiritual understanding and human language alone!
As we increasingly give our hearts and our minds over to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our prayer lives will grow more satisfying and also more pleasing to God. We will pray less selfishly, too. Jesus, our perfect example, prayed for God’s will over his own, even when it meant facing the cross (Matthew 26:39). This is the kind of fully surrendered heart God desires.
Can we honestly say we always desire God’s will over our own? Are our prayers filled with mere fine-sounding words or true heartfelt devotion? Do they simply consist of a laundry list of wants and needs, or is just as much time and attention given to praising God’s name and character?
Don’t be discouraged by past failures. Where we struggle, let us turn to the only one who can help us, the one who by his grace can change hearts and transform our prayers.
Let Us Pray
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the privilege of carrying everything to you in prayer. And yet we confess we are often remiss in doing so. By your grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, teach us to be faithful in prayer, turning our whole hearts to you in love and submission. May we learn to truly desire your will above our own in all things, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let Us Praise
Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The LORD is my strength and my shield; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. (Psalms 28:6-7)
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No Secrets
…Thou art every where present, from Thee no secret can be hid. May the knowledge of this, teach us to fix our Thoughts on Thee, with Reverence & Devotion that we pray not in vain…
The pages of Jane Austen’s novels are populated with people keeping secrets, whether it concerns past bad behavior (Mr. Willoughby’s seduction of Colonel Brandon’s ward, Mr. Wickham’s attempted elopement with Georgiana Darcy), clandestine engagements (Edward Ferrars to Lucy Steel, Frank Churchill to Jane Fairfax), or hidden aspirations (Fanny Price’s being in love with her cousin Edmund).
Although motives for secret keeping can sometimes be pure (as with Mr. Darcy’s desire to protect the reputation of his innocent young sister), more often it’s a matter of hiding misdeeds in order to get one’s way or avoid punishment. In fiction and in real life, though, most of these secrets eventually come out. As Mr. Weston says in the fifty-third chapter of Emma, “These matters are always a secret, till it is found out that every body knows them” – a bit of classic Jane Austen wit and wisdom.
No matter how private we are with our own or other people’s secrets, nothing is ever hidden from God.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
God knows. He knows every kind and unkind thought that has ever crossed our minds, every gracious or spiteful word that has passed our lips, every fact and lie we have uttered. He knows our true motives for doing what we do, our hidden desires, and our darkest fears. How do you feel about that? Does it make you at least a little uncomfortable?
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