A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 1/3

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Today's Pause for Prayer post is not a prayer
but, rather, a post about prayer.

Two years ago I was on retreat
at Hurtado House at the Faber community in Brighton,
a residence compound for Jesuits studying in the Boston area.
I was the only retreatant among the students living there.

Late one night I was alone in the house chapel
and the thought came to me
that no one on the face of the earth
knew exactly where I was at that moment
- except God...

I pondered this for a while
and then realized that no one in the world knew
what I was doing that moment - except God...

I settled into the time and place and realized no one on the planet
knew what was on my mind
and in my heart at that moment
- except God...

Nor did anyone in the whole of creation know
that I was praying, or what I was praying
- except God...

In a very real way,
I was alone with God
and God was alone with me...

I have often gone back to that experience
when I'm finding it difficult to pray,
or when I'm not sure what or how to pray,
or when I'm distracted by so many things
around me and inside me...

I'm sure that being on retreat
and having the chapel to myself contributed to this experience.
But this being alone with God
is an experience I could have in a busy, noisy subway car
- if I'd only close my eyes
and recognize how present God is to me
- especially when it's my desire to be close to God
who always wants to draw closer to me...

So...
make some time today to be alone with God...

Find a place to sit in the company of the Lord...

Ponder what it means to be alone with God
who desires nothing more
than to spend some quiet time with you...

Come into the presence of God
who's waiting for you,
who's waiting to spend some time with you
alone...

Dear God,
Help me to set aside some time today,
help me find a quiet place
to be alone with you...

Help me find a time and a place
when no one else in the world will know
where my heart has gone and what I'm doing
- except, O Lord, except you,
my loving God...

Amen.