1/7/13

Praying 10 minutes today: TUESDAY 1/8


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:   

God, do not be silent;
   God, be not still and unmoved...
Psalm 83






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

There are times, Lord, when all I want to do 
   is to rest in the quiet of your presence,
      in the silence of your peace... 

There are times when your silence tells me
   all I need to know of how you love me:
when your heart speaks to mine 
   in a language without words,
when words could never tell the love
   that my heart finds in yours...

But then come times when the quiet is a place I fear 
      and your silence is a burden;
then I wonder where you are
   and strain and hunger for a word, just one,
      to let me know you're there...

There are times, Lord, in the silence,
   when my pain and problems ring alarms
and echo ever louder, never fading,
   and I wait and long to hear a word that falls
      from your lips to my ears to bring me peace
         and the quiet my soul thirsts for...

God, do not be silent;
   God, be not still and unmoved...

O God, do not be silent
   when I need to hear your voice;
when I wait to hear a word of comfort
   and compassion that consoles me in my grief;
when I need to hear a word of challenge  
    meant to rouse me from self-pity and my sins;
when I try to hear your voice and word
   instruct me in your wisdom, in your ways, 
      and lead me to the silence 
         where my soul finds rest in you...

O God, be not still and unmoved by my plea
   but hear me and attend to my prayer...

Give me peaceful silence when I long for it
      and break the pain of silence with your word of peace...

When my soul hears only noise and longs
   for your clear and gentle voice,
open me to hear the word you speak,
   the word you speak to me, the word I need to hear...

In all the noise, then, Lord,
   calm my troubled heart, my anxious spirit,
and bring me to a quiet place where in the silence
   I will find you and will hear your saving word...

In the quiet, Lord, let me hear your wordless presence
   and find peace in simply knowing you are near,
      that you are here, that you're my God...

In my prayer, Lord, attune my heart to yours   
   that in the din, I might hear you call my name
      and in the quiet, I might rest within your peace...

God, do not be silent;
   God, be not still and unmoved...

Do not be silent, Lord,
   but in the silence speak to me...

Speak to me, Lord, 
   that in the silence I might rest within your word...

Don't be silent, Lord,
   but bring me to the silence where I will hear you speak...

And speak to me, Lord, that in your word
   I might find the peaceful quiet you have promised...

God, do not be silent;
   God, be not still and unmoved...
 
To ponder and pray over...
When, in all the noise of my life, 
   have I longed to be quiet with the Lord?
When, in the silence, have I longed for God to speak to me?
In prayer, has silence become my friend?
In the quiet of prayer, have I learned to hear God speak
   even when his lips are silent?
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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