Shut Up and Listen to God

I’ve written several times on the subject silence and solitude.  I’m a much more contemplative person, I would rather chew on a thought or piece of scripture for many hours or days than I would try and fly through a book.  For me, a bunch of head knowledge about what a book (of the Bible) has to say isn’t as life transformational than what the essence of a small piece, or even a single word, has to say.

Contemplative practices include silence and solitude, lectio divina (a meditative repetition of a particular Scripture passage), daily office (prayers for specific hours of the day) and other liturgical activities that encourage a still mind and body but an active spirit.  — relevantmagazine.com

I came across this article that I’d like to share with you.  It has some really good insight into how to spend time with God through silence, solitude, and “just chewing on it” – contemplation.

For those of us who attend (or work at) Cumberland Church, this article pretty much validates much of what Alan spoke on this past weekend, particularly with the routinely practices of prayer.

1. Find, develop, and keep a sacred usual place.  Sit down, and for a moment, think about when and where you can develop a routine – an every day place.
2. Have prayer partners – people who are close to you that will go through it with you.
3. Follow Jesus’ example in prayer – be submissive to God’s will.  Be totally honest with God and with your prayer partner – lay face on the ground and be honest.
4. Gauge your prayer intensity!  How earnestly do your pray for/about something?  Is there a hunger there?
5. Be proactive with your praying.  How?  Exercise steps 1-5 over and over.
6. Rise up and get to action!  Follow, do, move forward in the will of God, Abba Father, Daddy.

Being There

This past weekend, Jen and I went up to Asheville, NC for a time to ourselves.  The agenda: being there.  We soaked in the time together, and the time alone.  We found this great little coffee shop called the Black Bear Cafe (actually, this was in Hendersonville) and it was everything that I love about coffee shops.  Young and old, Dems and Repubs, men and women all conversing about life.  There was only one person in the entire shop who was glued to their computer.  Everyone else showed a great deal of interest in each other’s lives; I know I learned a great deal just listening in.

I also rediscovered my need for solidute.  I seldom find myself alone.  Solidute is one of those practices that if left unscheduled, can go months and months without ever seeming to pop-up in my life.  For someone who is as relational as I am, for someone who wants more than anything else to live in a commune, for someone who has a hard time being alone, I miss my solitude.

I was able to write, read a lot, pray some, and meditate on my life and the past few years.  I believe that I got more clarity in those few hours than I have in months of cluttered thinking.  I have a lot more meditating to do; I haven’t quite determined how to move forward.

Inertia.  Growth.  Movement (not movING) is lacking.

I know we were created for relationships, but sometime the only way to shut the world up (especially all of the “I approve this message” commercials) is to be alone.