Margaret Fell wrote letters of spiritual counsel to individuals and to groups of Friends. Often the occasion of the letters is unknown, and the other half of the correspondence has not survived. If those who received her letters wrote back, these documents are no longer extant. At times the situation of the recipient can be determined from the context, such as when she wrote to Friends suffering imprisonment for their faith. As a gifted leader among Quakers, Margaret Fell could loom large in real life, but in these letters she tends to recede into the background. Rather than offering detailed instructions or referring to her own experience as a model for others to follow, she directs her readers to the Light, which will provide real guidance.

An examination of Margaret Fell’s letters reveals her understanding of the inward process. For example, a study of verbs in the imperative mood – verbs that instruct her reader to act, such as “wait,” “see,” and “mind” – shows an admonition to mindfulness, to patient, receptive attention to the Light. Often we can discern a pattern in her counsel: to keep low, to wait, to mind the Light, to see, to be faithful and obedient. Such obedience, however, even when costly, is not in the end a grim task. It leads to peace, joy, and unity with God and with others. It is the road to spiritual freedom.

Very often she first advises her readers to “be low and watchful.” To keep low, or to be humble, enables us to be watchful. Genuine humility is a strength that empowers us to notice what is really happening rather than to be absorbed in our own fantasies, fears, ideas, and intentions. Failing to practice humility is like covering the camera lens when taking a picture: we only end up with a photograph of our own finger. We need to keep low so that we do not block what we want to see, which is the activity of God in our midst.

–Michael Birkel in Pendle Hill Pamphlet 398: The Messenger That Goes Before