"He went off to the mountain to pray." Mk 6:46
There is nothing more settling, especially when preparing for a difficult conversation, journey or task, than quiet prayer. Prayer centers us in ways we do not fully understand, and it alerts us to the presence of God.
At the same time, we should not be naive or overly expectant when we take time to be quiet and listen to God. God rarely hits us over the head with new insights. Rather, the simple prayer of breathing quietly and handing ourselves over to God for God's plan makes it possible for us to listen to others without having to respond immediately, and to believe even when life seems very dark.
Jesus often goes off to pray alone. (Mt 14, Mk 1), He prays before meals (Mt 26, Mk 8) and before important decisions, (Lk 6, Mt 26) but these instances merely point to who he was and suggest a path for us. Jesus was alert to and in union with his Father. He "prayed" always and that is our task as well.
Intentionally sitting quietly, breathing evenly and opening ourselves to God's desire prepares us, like Jesus, to be in union with God, alert to God's promptings and anxious to follow God's path.
Sit alone and in quiet for fifteen minutes. Don't be alarmed by your distractions.
What kind of prayer most grounds you and helps you listen to the cries of the poor?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be discreet in your comments. I will monitor the comments, and only exclude those that are patently offensive.