Prayer

For God alone my soul in silence waits; *
truly, my hope is in him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, *
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.

-Psalm 62:6,7

The name of this blog is taken from my favorite prayer in the Book of Common Prayer:

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It's often said that we each walk around with a God shaped hole in the center of our souls. This deep hole keeps us feeling empty and hungry.  And because we want to fill our holes up and feel better, we often try to fill it with all kinds of things that are other than God - things like food, drink, money, possessions, power, control, sex - the list goes on and on.  But the only thing that will ever satisfy the innate emptiness we are born with is God.  It's almost as if God planted an emptiness within us which is meant to draw us to God.  

Augustine famously said, "Our souls are restless, Lord, until they rest in you."  And our psalm from this Sunday puts it this way: "My soul is waiting for just one thing, and my hope rests in that one thing - the one thing through which I find any strength I have - and that one thing is God."

In this cold and quiet time of year, we get a nice chance to open ourselves to receive God by taking a break from the noise and clutter that can so easily take over our days. Winter is a good time to find time to be quiet and still and receptive.  To pray. And when we put special time aside to be still and to wait in silence, we discover the strong foundation of rock that is always there upholding us - our stronghold, where we will never be shaken.

May these dark, cold and icy days of January give you the quiet you need to deepen in your life of prayer and find the deep satisfaction of spending time with God - both alone and with others.  If you'd like some support and ideas in adding more prayer to your week, I commend our weekday Pocket of Peace gathering at 11:30 on Wednesdays in the cozy room.  Come to be inspired, to find new connections, and to feel the presence of God.

Our readings for this Sunday are HERE