In the garden before the cross Jesus asked His disciples if they could not even pray for an hour. I'm afraid He would have to ask us if we can pray for five minutes. Extended prayer is particularly difficult in our lives so filled with responsibilities, blessings, and distractions.
Praying significantly in the midst of writing is also quite difficult, and requires discipline. I maintain a series of prayer lists for people and concerns around me. And I try to pray for them in occasional breaks in my writing. This week I have been working on several chapters that I’m adding to a book I've nearly completed. Not only am I anxious to complete the book, but I've been driven by the need for these chapters. And I was consumed by what I was writing. I began one of those days with a devotional time, but I did not take a break all morning long. I suppose I wouldn't have stopped for lunch if my wife had not got my attention.
I wanted to get going again as soon as I had gobbled down a sandwich. I had to discipline myself to pray and read my Bible a little. It was a warm afternoon for March. So I took my drink outside to spend a little time with God. I had hardly begun before I noticed something I had not realized during my meal or writing all morning. My muscles were wound up tight, and I was exhausted. I actually found my devotional time restful and was restored to begin writing again as soon as I finished.
I began my afternoon writing with zeal. In a few minutes I was caught back up in the passion of my writing. By the time I finished I was again exhausted. I had difficulty finishing the planned prayer for the day. But I am pleased with what I wrote. And I strongly suspect that the quality of my writing was better because I not only took a physical, but a spiritual rest in the arms of God.
http://daveswatch.com
http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com
http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com
SLOW ME DOWN LORD
ReplyDeleteSlow me down Lord
Ease the pounding of my heart
by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace
with a vision of the eternal march of time.
Give me amid the confusion of the day,
the calmness of the eternal hills.
Break the tension of my nerves and muscles
with the soothing music of the singing streams
that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking MINUTE vacations,
Of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend,
to pat a dog,
to read a few lines of a good book.
Slow me down Lord
and inspire me to send my roots
deep into the soil of life's enduring values
that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.
Author: Wilfred A. Peterson