Several years ago I wrote a Daily Devotional for StreamingFaith called “When Prayer Is Awkward” (Their Daily Devotional aren’t listed in more. I’ll link when they’re live.). Here’s another set of devotionals (here).
In response to that devotional, I received a huge number of comments, thoughts, feedback, and even testimonials of how timely the posting was for folks from all over the world (I’m thankful!).
I wanted to take a moment and specifically address two questions in particular. One I already wrote about in Part 1 (here). The other question, I’ll respond today.
One respondent asked: Are you supposed to sit there and just do nothing? Is it possible to sit there and think nothing? Or can you sit and meditate on a verse?
This kind of question is pretty straight-forward as well. But I want to preface it by saying that in today’s society of meditating and yoga and other ‘spiritual’ practices of which many don’t align with God’s will or His Word, true Biblical meditation, what we call prayer, involves us allowing God to transform us into what He desires us to be versus trying to transform ourselves into our own image of right and wrong.
To be honest with you, sometimes just sitting and ‘taking a load off’ is exactly what God calls for. It is literally slowing the pace of our lives enough to not only hear ourselves think, but even taking a minute to give God an opportunity to speak to us. It is absolutely overwhelming and disheartening to think about how busy our lives have become. Its literally suffocating. We must slow down to allow space for God.
Then there are times where “being still…” (Ps. 46:10 – here) actually involves activity. This activity may mean literally walking step by step by following Gods instruction, through the Holy Spirit. This is what it means to walk by faith. Sometimes being still means going through a process, but ‘waiting’ on God to make a move. That sounds almost contradictory. But it’s really not.
Whatever the season you’re in, it must involved obeying the voice of God for your life (Read Romans 8: 14 – here). It must involve consistent reflection on scripture. It must involve consistent self-reflection and reflection based upon God’s Word and what it is revealing about us. It must involve spiritual growth, that is coupled with authentic mature relationships with other mature believers that can hold us accountable for growth. And finally, it must be regularly practiced and pursued. You’re pursuing God Himself, not just the practice of prayer and reflection. There’s a huge difference and requires a different approach. Finally, I’d encourage you to meditate on Psalm 1 (here), Psalm 119 (here), and Romans 12 (here).
Happy Faith Walking! Live Inspired!