A Break from the World

The art of reflection, solitude, silence is not one that we practice often in today's society. In fact, the world today seems a chaos of noise and commotion and busyness. So much so that it seems it's becoming increasingly difficult to pray - to break apart from the worries of the day, the meandering thoughts, the concerns, the random lists of to-dos that enter our mind.

But this is also precisely why we need to pray. God calls us to lift these concerns to Him, to allow Him to enter our lives and give us strength for the to-dos. After all...

"He will quiet you with his love,

He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

I believe we all secretly long for that quiet, that peace. And we need to come to God, to seek time alone with our Father so that He may quiet us and calm our chaotic minds. God is there waiting for us every morning, hoping that we will come seek Him out, and He tells us:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7)

We are encouraged to seek God, but also to ask. I think sometimes 'good upstanding' Christians can fall into the trap of thinking that they 'ought to' pray for this or that. But we are instructed to 'ask' God... and when I think about it, there's good reason to ask. After all, in asking we acknowledge that the ultimate power comes from God... not from ourselves. Asking also invites God to work through us and in us. And asking is a step of faith, because we believe that if it is God's will... it will be given to us.

So even asking is a part of this break from the world. The world would have us believe that it is our own responsibility - that we will only get/achieve something if we work harder or longer with our own power. Asking God takes the focus off of us, and quiets our hearts.