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:
Be still
and know that I am God...
- Psalm 46
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
In my own Lenten experience this year, I find that silence is becoming an important reality. As background for that, let me share with you that I wake up to a clock radio – either music or news. I’m a person who tends to turn on the car radio as soon as I’m on the road. When I walk into my rooms at day’s end, the radio or a favorite CD fills the quiet almost immediately. All this and not to mention that I spend a good part of my day talking with people. There’s a lot of sound in my day.
(Before moving on to the reflection below,
spend some quiet time with the scripture verse above...)
Slow me down, Lord...
Especially when I can't stop the merry-go-round on my own:
slow me down...
When my ears and mind are filled with noise,
slow me down and show me a path to a quiet place...
When I'm standing still but moving at 60 inside,
put the brakes on and bring me to a stop by your side,
in a place where I can hear my own breathing
and the breath of your Spirit within me...
Help me hear my heart beat
and to trust that you listen to every beat...
Help me savor the silence
and find peace within it
and peace within my soul...
Help me make the time to find the calm,
to find the quiet I need
to hear the birds sing, the tide come in,
the sun rise and the moon wax full in the skies above...
Let me find the time, Lord, for the rhythms of my life
to slow down and rock me not to sleep but to peace,
to that serenity that only you can give...
Let this place and time of prayer become for me
a wellspring of sweet waters for a thirsty heart,
a place where I will want to come often, every day,
to draw and drink from its depths,
to slake my thirst for what truly satisfies
and gives me life...
Bring me to a quiet place, Lord,
wherever in my day that may be
and let me find the time to sit with you there
to drink in the peace that's only yours to give...
Help me to be still, Lord,
that I might know that you are God,
that I might know that you are near...
Slow me down, Lord...
Especially when I can't stop the merry-go-round on my own:
slow me down...
When my ears and mind are filled with noise,
slow me down and show me a path to a quiet place...
When I'm standing still but moving at 60 inside,
put the brakes on and bring me to a stop by your side,
in a place where I can hear my own breathing
and the breath of your Spirit within me...
Help me hear my heart beat
and to trust that you listen to every beat...
Help me savor the silence
and find peace within it
and peace within my soul...
Help me make the time to find the calm,
to find the quiet I need
to hear the birds sing, the tide come in,
the sun rise and the moon wax full in the skies above...
Let me find the time, Lord, for the rhythms of my life
to slow down and rock me not to sleep but to peace,
to that serenity that only you can give...
Let this place and time of prayer become for me
a wellspring of sweet waters for a thirsty heart,
a place where I will want to come often, every day,
to draw and drink from its depths,
to slake my thirst for what truly satisfies
and gives me life...
Bring me to a quiet place, Lord,
wherever in my day that may be
and let me find the time to sit with you there
to drink in the peace that's only yours to give...
Help me to be still, Lord,
that I might know that you are God,
that I might know that you are near...
In my own Lenten experience this year, I find that silence is becoming an important reality. As background for that, let me share with you that I wake up to a clock radio – either music or news. I’m a person who tends to turn on the car radio as soon as I’m on the road. When I walk into my rooms at day’s end, the radio or a favorite CD fills the quiet almost immediately. All this and not to mention that I spend a good part of my day talking with people. There’s a lot of sound in my day.
Near the beginning of Lent I was heading out of town for an appointment and for some reason, perhaps the nudge of the Spirit, I didn’t turn on the car radio. After a couple of miles I realized that I was in relative silence and I simultaneously knew that I was enjoying it, finding it peaceful. Almost immediately I began to wonder if I’d leave the radio off or turn it on before I reached my destination – about a half hour away. But the silence was something like a cold drink on a very warm day. I think you know what I mean here. When you’re thirsty on a hot and humid day, just a sip isn’t enough! You want more and you just keep gulping that cold drink and enjoying its refreshment which is sweet even if it's only water. That’s how it was with me and the silence in my car. No, I didn’t turn the radio on before I arrived at my stop. And since then, I’ve found myself more and more driving in silence and enjoying it as time, sweet time, in peace and prayer, with the Lord. Like a glass of cold water on a hot summer’s day…
Silence isn’t easy to find these days and in some of our households, it’s almost impossible to find a quiet moment or two. I know that’s true for someone like me who lives alone so I can only imagine how difficult it is when you’re raising children! But silence is what we need if we want to listen for the breath of God breathing within us, for the Spirit of God moving within us, for the voice of God speaking within us...
Be still and know that I am God...
Be still and know that I am...
Be still and know
Be still...
Be...
Be still and know
Be still...
Be...
To ponder and pray over...
If I took an "inventory" of the sounds and noise in my life...
What sounds, what noise might I give up for Lent?
What are the times in my day or night when I might find some quiet?
Where are the places in my day or night
where I might find some silence?
Can I imagine the quiet as a time of peace,
silence as a place of peace?
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?
What sounds, what noise might I give up for Lent?
What are the times in my day or night when I might find some quiet?
Where are the places in my day or night
where I might find some silence?
Can I imagine the quiet as a time of peace,
silence as a place of peace?
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.
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.
(H/T to a cyber friend for the Listen/Silent graphic above!)
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I, too, have discovered the joy of silence in my car on the way to and from work (after going to daily Mass). More time to spend with the Lord and tune out radio noise.
ReplyDeleteIt refreshes my soul, my spirit and my outlook! It makes a huge difference in my day!