40 Days Of Prayer And Reflection - Spiritual Directive: Trust Your Inner Voice

Do you really want to be converted? Are you willing to be transformed? Or do you keep clutching your old ways of life with one hand while with the other you beg people to help you change?

Conversion is certainly not something you bring about yourself. It is not a question of will power. You have to trust the inner voice that shows the way. You know that inner voice. You turn to it often. But after you have heard with clarity what you are asked to do, you start raising questions, fabricating objections, and seeking everyone else's opinion. Thus you become entangled in countless, often contradictory thoughts, feelings and ideas and lose touch with God in you. You end up dependent on all the people you have gathered around you.

Only by attending constantly to the inner voice can you be converted to a new life of freedom and joy.

- Henri J. M. Nouwen "The Inner Voice Of Love"