Keep quiet and pray

Hennie Symington

Scripture

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:26-27

Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher said the following about prayer: “At first I thought prayer was talking. Then I learned that it was to be silent. That means listening not to your own voice but to the voice of God.”

The Bible urges us to pray without ceasing. This is more difficult than keeping most of the more well-known of the Ten Commandments. Some would say it’s impossible. However, if your entire life, waking or sleeping is in a state of prayer, then it’s not impossible. It’s all about the way you look at life and how you see God. To be in a state of prayer does not mean that you spend hours, days, or months on you knees in a verbal conversation with God. It’s much more than that. It’s a lifetime of becoming increasingly aware of God as the source of your deepest joy and well-being.

If you are in a constant state of prayer, then there’s no distinction between talking to God, or just listening and sometimes just waiting on God to talk to you. You can even talk to God while busying yourself with you daily tasks. Of course there’s place for formal prayer during your quiet time with God. One can imagine God looking forward to this special time with his child where you work through you prayer list with Him.

How does God speak to you?

God answers your prayers through his Word, through the people that cross you path on a particular day, in what happens to you during the day and how you handle it, a poem, a book or even a movie that brought new insight to your faith. When you can accept that the Holy Spirit has come to make his home among us it’s not so difficult to accept that prayer is possible in every situation and that the Spirit forwards every sigh and every prayer with the greatest care to the One who listens.

Prayer

God, be Thou the still point in my busy, over-organised life. Amen

PS. Today marks the end of this series of Verse a day and from my side I want to thank all of those who encouraged me with your responses and who commented on the day’s piece. May God bless you in your daily lives as you endeavour to serve him in whatever circumstances you find yourself in. Till next time. Regards Hennie