Most of the time long stretches of silence (besides sleeping and running) aren't part my days; but tonight's different. A few years ago, before marriage to my beloved and kids, taking silent retreat made no sense. Going home at the end of the day and opening the door could lead to a place and time of silence; but now our home is rarely silent.
As the first to arrive at our church's spring Mission service project the whole church basement where our group will be staying this week is home for just one tonight. We'll be working this week on flood recovery in Filmore County, Minnesota. Most of the group will arrive tomorrow at 8 am; but one is here early.
The silence starts tonight with Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, sometimes reading Chambers bothers this Lutheran. But tonight Chambers offers a challenge to a common way of prayer that makes sense. Chambers question seems to be, is prayer offering God a list of instructions or is it opening ones self up to the mind of God. Worshiping God, Chambers instructs, isn't about telling God what do do in another persons life, but listening to and being open to the will of God.
This spring my congregation enters a time of transition. The last couple weeks its been clear that there's no road map for what comes next; instead there's this one prayer that keeps repeating: thy will be done. Luther wrote,
The good and gracious will of God is surely done without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may be done also among us.The gift of prayer isn't that it changes God; but that it opens us up to God most often meaning that we will be changed.
1 comment:
How was your silent retreat? This is something a few of us have been considering. We live in such a noisy world, that it's difficult to be silent and listen. Blessings.
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