9/24/12

Praying 10 minutes today: TUESDAY 9/25


Find a quiet time and place to pray... take a few deep breaths...
be still... and know that God is near...


A word to reflect on:   
Find your delight in the Lord
   who will give you your heart's desire...
Be still before the Lord;
   wait for God...
- Psalm37





(Before moving on to the reflection below,
   spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)

Usually it takes me some, time, Lord,
   to actually settle down, take a few deep breaths, relax
      and really be still in your presence...

But way too often I don't slow down all that much.
I steal a few free minutes, my cell phone still at hand.
I read a few words, close my eyes, and hope for the best...

But true prayer comes when I put on the brakes,
   pull off my day's highway, step aside from my schedule,
      make a place to be still, clear some space in my mind
          and, in my heart's chapel, wait:
             I wait for you, Lord...

And the waiting can be the hard part.
I know you're there, by my side - you're not hiding.
But I wait to see you,
   not with my eyes but with my heart...
I wait to hear you,
   not with my ears but in your word...
I wait for your touch,
   not on my skin but on my soul...

I wait for your presence beside me, around me,
   and especially within me
and only in the stillness, in the quiet
   will I find you...

Your presence is like a fine mist,
      translucent, spun of the Spirit's breath,
a soft but steady light burning
   in dark corners and at the tunnel's end:
only in the stillness, in the quiet
   will I find you whose presence is so real...

Find your delight in the Lord
   who will give you your heart's desire...
Be still before the Lord;
   wait for God...

And though I wait to find you, Lord,
   I know that first you wait for me...

You wait all day for me to call upon your name...
You wait for me to slow my step and find you by my side...
You wait for me to nod my thoughts in your direction,
   to tip my heart towards you when I'm grateful,
      to open my soul's windows to your Spirit...

You wait for me with help for this day's problems...
You wait for me with mercy for my failings...
You wait for me with healing for my bruises...
You wait for me with peace to ease my sorrow...
You wait for me with light to fill my darkness...
You wait for me with grace to bless my nights...
You wait for me to make some time and find a place
      where I might rest and wait for you...

Find your delight in the Lord
   who will give you your heart's desire...
Be still before the Lord;
   wait for God...

Truth be told, Lord, many times I come to prayer,
   not to wait for you
but to wait for you to fix me, mend and heal me,
   to wait for you to answer my questions and solve my problems,
      to wait for you to give me what I need and want and pray for...

Truth be told, Lord, many times I come to prayer,
   not so much to wait for you
      but to wait to see what you can do for me -
         even to "remind you" of what you've not yet done...

And while I know you understand when I pray like this,
   I also know your first desire is for me to know you,
      to know your love for me and to love you in return....

Your first desire is to reveal yourself:
   as the One who's waited for me since before all time;
   as the One who waits for me when I'm faithful and when I'm not;
   as the One who waits for me to wait for you...

Your first desire is for me to know that you love me;
   that you have loved me since before all time;
   that you love me when I'm faithful and when I'm not;
   that you love my waiting for you
      - even when I wait to see what you will do for me...

Your first desire is for me to love you in return:
   to love you with the time you've given me
      to wait upon my neighbor's needs and wait for you in prayer;
   to love you when I'm faithful and seek your mercy when I'm not;
   to love you while I wait for you - who wait for me, in love...

Help me to be still, Lord, in your presence:
   help me wait for you, my God...

And in the quiet, in the stillness,
   let me find peace, even in the waiting:
      mine for you and yours for me...

In the stillness, in the quiet, let me come to know you, Lord,
   to know your love for me
      and to grow to love you in return...

In the quiet, in the waiting, in the prayer and in the peace
   help me see that you're my heart's desire:
      that when I find my joy in you I have everything I need,
      that in your love for me you've given more
           than all my mind, my heart, my soul might hold...

I find my delight in you, Lord
   for you are my heart's desire...
Be still my soul, before the Lord,
   and wait for God who waits for you...
   
To ponder and pray over...
What's the busyness that keeps me from time for prayer?
Do I really slow down for prayer or do I try to pray on the run?
How much of my prayer is just for getting to know the Lord?
How much of my prayer has "an agenda?"
Knowing God's love is his first desire for me in my prayer:
   what's my first desire in prayer?
What will I ask of the Lord today?
From this prayer time, what word or phrase will I keep with me
   to carry through the rest of my day?

(After you spend some time with these questions,
   pray the reflection above one more time...)

Here are some tips for praying 10 minutes a day.  If you find these daily prayer reminders helpful, please let me know - and share them with others.  You'll find an archive of these daily posts here.

 
 
   
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1 comment:

  1. Thank you for helping me to be still...and wait...:)

    ReplyDelete

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