Quiet----ly

(I often read the daily devotions from Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado. Lately, I have found myself being more and more drawn to dive deeper into what I think or how I feel about the scripture being discussed. It has inspired me to examine, consider and reexamine my spiritual life.)


Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

Both verses present this idea that Jesus used quiet time alone to communicate with God.

Just since I sat down with my book, I have lost focus at least a dozen times. Four text messages, three songs, two conversations and one facebook session later, I can finally concentrate on what the scripture is saying.

Quiet and alone are not two things I do well with at any time. When I create quiet, I still tend to lose focus when the wind blows or the bugs jump.

I believe the scripture emphasizes the importance of spending time alone with God.

How many of you willy nilly pray? When I say willy nilly, I mean walking through a store or driving down the road, you say a quick prayer when something pops into your mind.

I think until the past several months, I have been a willy nilly prayer. I would do the quick obligatory praying as things popped into my head or someone presented a request.

Not sleeping for months on end, opened a window of time every night for me to sit alone. In a quiet house, everyone sleeping, I was able to have an honest time of prayer everyday.

It was in those times that I learned deep, thoughtful prayer was more powerful than willy nilly. I could think about those around me and pray for every need I knew and even those I did not.

As crazy as it sounds, I used facebook as a prayer tool. Going through the list of needs expressed every day and listening to the cries of the hurting, I was able to spend time praying for each of them. It was a very powerful experience for me.

I think it’s easy for me to be distracted and get caught in the hurriedness of life, but I can hold onto my experience. Being alone, praying and communicating without distraction with God is and can be a life changing experience.