I just got a holder for my phone to put in my car. There are a few reasons for this but one of the underlying reasons is that I realized that I struggle to sit for 20-30 seconds without doing something. When I come to a red light, I pick my phone up and check to see if there are any emails I need to glance at. It hit me one day that I’ve gotten to the point where I struggle to sit still. Writing this brings Psalm 46:10 to mind, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Reflecting on this verse, I begin to wonder if my desire to fill every moment with “something productive” is really my own deeper struggle to let God be God.
When was the last time you stopped and did nothing? Not, sat and read a book, checked your phone, etc. We tend to fill our time with something, anything. Even when we set aside time to pray, we tend to fill that time with talking to God. I’m not really talking about “nothing.” What I’m actually talking about is very active. It is an active nothing that is filled with intentionality. This active nothing is called listening. Henri Nouwen, whom you’ve heard me quote a number of times now, says, “Prayer is first of all listening to God. It’s openness. God is always speaking; he’s always doing something.” This understanding of prayer was new to me a little over a decade ago and has been a journey ever sense.
Listening to God is scary and uncomfortable. One of two things are going to happen: something or nothing. If something happens, you have to wrestle with what God has spoken to you and if it was in fact God who was speaking rather than your own wants and desires. If nothing happens, you begin to wrestle with why you cannot hear God or why he isn’t speaking to you. I have found that the second is the devil’s foothold and his work. Listening to God is a “muscle” which needs developing. We don’t often want to enter this space of listening because we have to let go of control. It is more comfortable for us to do the talking ourselves and stay busy.
This Sunday, I want to explore this idea of listening and prayer in Scripture. I will use the imagery of Elijah’s journey to Mt. Horeb in 1 Kings 19 as the narrative for how we miss God in prayer. Take some time to sit with this story. How well does Elijah listen to God? Is he changed by God’s presence? Think about yourself in this story. In what ways do you look for God in the big events represented by wind, fire, and earthquake? Why do we expect God to be in the big things? Why do you think we struggle to notice God in the gentle whispers? Slowdown in the next 48 hours and look for God. I’d love to hear from you and where you saw God showing up. How different would life be if you regularly slowed down to notice where God is working and speaking?
Jesus models a life shaped by prayer. I’m going to provide a list of references to Jesus’ prayer life early in Luke’s Gospel. What did Jesus hear? What is Jesus doing or getting ready to do when he prays? What do you need to learn from these passages?
3:21-22
4:42-44
5:15-16
6:12-13
9:18-20
9:28-29