Finding Rest in a Restless World
After leading a recent workshop far from home I faced the prospect of a travel day that would begin at 6:00 AM, have me on three different flights, and then after an hour long drive, have me arriving home at 2:00 AM the next morning. I was truly hoping to get some sleep on the longest of my flights. Much to my dismay as I settled into my seat, I discovered that just a seat away was a small boy who looked to be somewhere around two years of age. I just knew this was going to be a long flight with this kid crying, fidgeting, jumping up and down, and on and on. No rest for the weary in this flight!
Much to my great surprise as the jet lifted its wheels off the runway that little boy curled up on his father’s lap and was sound asleep for all but about the last 20 minutes of the four-hour flight. I absorbed the contentment of that child’s face as he slept in the loving arms of his caregiver and I thought about how much I appreciate that feeling when I know I’m in the loving arms of my Heavenly creator. Part of me lamented the restless nature of our lives and how hard it is to find those intimate moments with God when we can simply rest and find comfort. Could I challenge you, dear reader, to make room in your life for these types of moments?
One way of doing this is by practicing an ancient prayer form called “Centering Prayer.” This is a simple exercise that gives us the opportunity to rest in God’s loving arms for just a moment or two, or even longer if we have the time. This is a four step process that helps to bring us deeper into God’s embrace.
1. Find a quiet space that is as free from distractions as it can be. By all means get away from the TV, radio, and all telephones (yes, even the cell phone). You might want to begin your time in this quiet space by reading a devotional such as our Moravian Daily Texts. This is a wonderful way to turn this time into sacred time. After you have read your devotional simply be still and breathe deeply.
2. As you sit quietly choose a word or allow a word to choose you that will become your aid in focusing your attention on God’s presence. This could be a word that you just read in your devotional or it could be another particularly meaningful word such as: “Savior, God, Love, Jesus, Peace, Mercy, Trust,” to name a few. Repeat the word to yourself over and over again. That word should become your reminder that you are in God’s presence. Your aim at this point is not to lift up a long list of prayers to God; it is simply to rest in this sacred embrace. So repeat this word to yourself each time you say it picturing God’s presence washing over and through you deeper and deeper.
3. Your goal at this point is to get yourself to a place where your only thought is resting in God. When you arrive there you may then drop the word and simply enjoy that space. If you are like me (and most people) that moment usually does not last long before you find your mind drifting to your daily “to do list.” If this happens, begin again to repeat the word as a way of bringing you back to your rest, your place with God.
4. When you have spent what time you need or what time you have available, end your time with a simple prayer of thanksgiving for having been blessed with this rest. You can also use this as a moment in which to lift up the concerns and joys of your heart to God in prayer or you might use the Lord’s Prayer as a way of bringing this time to a close.
It takes work to be able to block out enough of your restless world in order to find a place of peace in God, but it can be done with practice. Experts in this field recommend that you do this 20 to 30 minutes a day. I will confess that I find it very hard to do for a variety of reasons, but still it is worth trying to devote yourself to this practice for the good of your deepening relationship with God.
In these last few weeks and months we have again discovered that there is much in life that we put our trust in, but God is not necessarily at the top of that list. Perhaps we have discovered that while “In God We Trust” is printed on all US currency, we have placed our trust on the structures and institutions that drive the currency rather than the God who has created, redeemed, and still sustains us. Resting in God’s presence in the midst of a restless world can only serve to focus us ever more intently and give us the strength to serve the world in Jesus’ name.
