All tagged quiet
This morning my devotional reading took me to Psalms 131, and it spoke to me. This psalm is only three verses long, but what wonderful verses they are. The message delivered here is one of contentment; a humbling that allows us to be with The Lord without feeling the need to perform in our faith, but rather, to find contentment in just being with Him.
This morning I am writing on the topic of wrestling in prayer. We will be contemplating what E.M. Bounds describes as that "inward force or ability planted and inspired by the Holy Spirit" or "the intercession of the Spirit of God in us." Sometimes we yield to the Spirit quite easily, but at others it seems that our pride wrestles with Him for control over our problems, and prayers.
Do we walk with God, or are we still yearning to walk with Him? How close is our relationship, or in its absence, how desperately do we seek His presence? In our desire for salvation and eternal life do we place these goals above simply loving God? If so, do we realize that without that love there will never be a quiet stroll through the garden, or a conversation spent speaking without having to utter a word?
When I was a boy it wasn’t uncommon to see people, and families taking a stroll in the evening. When people would have a problem in their life they wouldn’t go to a psychiatrist, they would take a quiet walk to meditate, think, reason, and if they were Men or women of faith they would discuss these things with God, and Jesus Christ. Somehow over the years we have fallen out of this habit, and come to believe that all our problems are to be addressed by yet more action, not less, and that quiet times of solitude are a waste of time. I invite each of us to ask ourselves a simple question today; “How much time do I spend alone with God, and Jesus, or in meditation versus going about my active life in the world, or even faith?”
We go to our mountains, our upper rooms, and our quiet places to pray because we feel close to God there, and feel like we are doing what Jesus Christ taught us, but something else occurs here… we are transformed spiritually, and often times physically. Jesus was strengthened at Gethsemane, and changed in appearance when on the mountain with Moses and Elijah. What is it about us that is changed in our prayer closets, quiet places, and on our own sacred mountains? What occurs within us in our close moments of prayer with God, and during our peaceful walks with Jesus down our own thoughtful roads to Emmaus? Do we visit these places with great expectation? Do we anticipate the quickening, and joy of an encounter with the divine?
As Christians we spend time in church and in faith based activities with other believers. We also find ourselves surrounded by the fallen world, and sometimes it can feel like both of these activities are having the same effect on us. The hectic nature they share, the imperfect humanness that is there; they wear on us, so let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions today… how much time do we spend alone with God, and do we allow this quiet time to restore us?
We lead incredibly hectic lives these days, so separating ourselves from the turmoil of today’s modern life to a place where we can spend personal time with God, and Jesus Christ, must be intentional, purposeful, and made to be routine. Are we in the habit of doing this? Do we have quiet times, and calm peaceful places, where we can sit praying, waiting, and listening in silence to hear the low still voice of God each day? God calls such places where we are separated unto Him Holy, and when we visit Him there we are asked to remove our shoes, and thus He makes us holy too.
The moments of our greatest strength are not those in which we lash out at our accusers, or argue against the injustice that faces us, but instead, our greatest strength is demonstrated in our silence, in the absolute confidence we have in God, and what is right in Him. The power of silence has never been more pronounced than during those telling minutes when Jesus faced the chief priests before Pilate… and said nothing. Is our faith this strong, and if not, do we pray for the day when it will be?
In this modern world we live in today, our daily lives are in a constant state of hurrying about. We slice our time so thinly that even a small variation can throw our entire day into chaos. By doing this we think we are being productive, but are we really? What about our relationships with family, friends, and God? Relationships take time, and those who are in one with us need to see that they are more than just another small slice of our day. Let me ask one question before we begin… How much time each day do we allot to making our families really feel loved, and more importantly, how much do we dedicate to being quiet, and still, with God?
As we serve the Lord we occasionally need to take a moment to be still, and collect our thoughts. We need to withdraw to a quiet place and wait patiently for Him to refresh us. From the silence of a mountain cave, we need to listen for our Father to speak. Sometimes we walk away to this place, but more often than not He drives us into the quiet of evening like a shepherd moving reluctant sheep to a safe pasture for the night… this is where the shepherd sings, talks, and plays His lyre for his flock. This is where God speaks quietly to us.
So often we seek God in the midst of whatever tempest that we find ourselves in, and then wonder why we can’t hear him. Do we each have a quiet place and time where we can have a conversation with Him? Jesus slipped away from the crowd, went off into the night, or, as He prepared for His time of passion, He went to the quiet of the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. This isn’t because God’s voice is weak, it is because we are distracted by all the turmoil that surrounds us. When we are in a crowd of shouting people, or in the midst of a raging storm, isn’t it difficult to hear even when someone yells our name out loud? Well… it is like this when we pray, or read scripture, too.
Have we set a certain hour, or hours, of prayer aside for ourselves each day? Of course we are told to pray throughout the day without ceasing, but have we designated special times of prayer when we can be alone with God, and speak with Him quietly, secretly, and without interruption? Many Christian denominations have designated certain times as being times of prayer, and the Bible refers to 3:00 in the afternoon as such an hour for the apostles, but are there times that are more suitable for you; times when God doesn’t compete for your attention?
We spoke yesterday about seeking out quiet places to pray, and this is important if we are to be alone with God, and hear His voice as it speaks to us, but there is one more ingredient that we touched on briefly... a secret place. If we are highly sought out, and can’t find solitude otherwise we need to find a secret, or unknown, place where we will not be disturbed as we pray, a place where we can listen to God, and He can speak openly with us. Jesus wandered into the wilderness in the early morning hours to places that others were not privy to, and met God there.
Do you make time to be alone with God? When the world is surrounding you and closing in from all sides is there a quiet place you can retreat to and speak intimately with the Lord? Jesus needed to withdraw from the world in such times, and we need to do the same. There is no way that we can approach our Father with a singleness of heart, mind, and soul if the clamor of the world is so loud that it continuously distracts us. Find a time, a place, and a method of separating yourself unto God.