In order to fulfill our heart’s desire to meet God deeply within our souls we must be willing to silence our minds. We must be willing to work hard to cast off all traces of anxious thoughts about money and other worries that seem to haunt us when we come before the Lord, our Good Shepherd in prayer. “Pause a while and know that I am God” says Psalm 46.
Someone has suggested imagining a stream of water flowing from a spring and branching out at random into different channels. As long as it flows this way it will be entirely useless. Its waters are spread out too much; each single channel is small, and, because of this, the water hardly moves. But if we should collect these scattered channels into a single stream, we would have a full and compact water flow that would be useful for many of life’s needs.
So too, with our need to meet God within. If we are spread out into all kinds of directions, we are divided up and it will be harder to move towards God. But when those pushes and pulls in every direction are collected into a single, God-centered stream of thought and desire, the need to be in close touch with the very Source of life will be fulfilled.
When we are willing to be still, many things come to us. Many things open up to us that are lost when we disturb the gentle stillness.
When our lives tend to become too full and too fast, we have the same need to back-off and relax. We need a little solitude in which to think things over. We need that much needed time to reflect on the meaning of whatever it is we’re doing, and the direction in which we are going. We’re victims of the “unfinished business” syndrome. Time for quiet, prayer, simply doesn’t seem available.
How do we make time? Why not take a good look at your calendar? Why not mark off some dates and times for some quite time with God? Give it equal billing with time for texting, e-mail, or shopping.
A French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, once said: “All men’s miseries come from their inability to sit quietly and alone.”
Let us pray:
Lord, give me the ability to sit quietly and alone. Help me to silence my mind, so that I may meet you deeply within my soul. Through your healing, saving presence I know that I have the cure for whatever is nagging my soul. Let me leave here --- not in a rush, rather, with a sense of peace and serenity deep in my heart … the peace and serenity that only You, Heavenly Father, can give.
God bless! Have a wonderful week!