A Concord Pastor Comments: Praying 10 Minutes a Day: Second Week/Tuesday

Gentian

Closely Watched Things

A too closely watched flower
blossoms the wrong color.
Excess attention to the jonquil
turns it gentian. Flowers
need it tranquil to get
their hues right. Some
only open at midnight.

- Kay Ryan in Say Uncle

Jonquils

"Flowers need it tranquil..." and "Some only open at midnight."

Be still, and know that I am God...

Worrying about my prayer (Am I doing it right?) might be something of the "excess attention" that turns jonquils gentian...

We might fear being still in God’s presence
because we think there’s something we need to do,
something we're supposed to do,
maybe something we don’t understand or know how to do.

But in prayer, most of the work is God’s work.

The question of what I need to do in prayer is simple:
will I invite, will I welcome God
to do what he wants to do in my life?
to speak what he wants to speak in my heart?
to help me understand what he wants me to know?
to heal and shape me to be the person he made me to be?
to forgive me so that I might be more free in his presence?

Am I setting aside those 10 minutes a day for prayer in Lent?

Remember: simply to sit in the Lord's company is, itself, a prayer...

Not a word need be spoken, unless and until it comes from my heart to my lips...

Who knows at what hour, on what day, the Lord will help me open to him and to his grace?

To step outside the ordinary... to sit in the quiet... to be still... and to know that God is with me...

Are you new to "Praying 10 Minutes a Day in Lent" - or are you having trouble getting started? The first installment offers some thoughts on getting started, as do the subsequent posts in the series. So take a look and join us!