The Quiet Discipline

While I must confess to falling short many times when it comes to praying, it is not because of a failure to read about prayer.  I probably have more books dealing with this spiritual discipline than any other topic.  While I may not be as faithful in my prayers as I should, I have for a long time been a student of prayer.  One of the things I have noticed over the years is the way my praying has changed.  My praying is certainly different than it was in the beginning and it has continued to evolve into something different than it was even a short time ago.

 

I was reminded of this the other morning while reading a devotional guide entitled, "A Guide to Prayer."  We have all had the experience of reading something and almost immediately saying, "Yes, Yes."  Sometimes we find that others say what we have experienced much better than we might have verbalized it.  Such a moment came the other morning it my devotional time as I read, "But during the past decade I have come to believe that prayer is not a matter of my calling in an attempt to get God's attention, but of my finally listening to the call of God, which has been constant, patient, and insistent in my inner being."  While I am not yet where I would choose to be, I am aware that I have been involved in learning to listen for what God might be trying to say to me.

 

As I think about learning to listen, I know that I have come to understand the value and the need to pay attention.  If we want to hear God, we have to pay attention to where we, who is with us, and what is going on around us.  God does not speak to us out of the future, but out of the present moment.  If we are not paying attention in the present moment He has given us, we will surely miss what He would say to us in it.