LISTEN! -- A Newsletter Piece.

 

The second last word in our list is ‘Listen’. What might that have to say for our life of faith? On the surface it seems to suggest we will pause and listen for God’s voice as we make decisions and choices in life. Which sounds great. I sometimes wonder how good a job we do (both as individuals and as a community) of doing that.

As I reflected on this word at this time I was brought back to prayer. Many times it seems that prayer is about us talking but prayer also needs to be sitting in silence and listening for God’s voice. That is hard. Our culture does not tend to do silence well. Many times we might crave silence, but it is hard to find. And even then we might find something to fill the void. Maybe that is part of why this hymn is so often used to start worship services:

Come find the quiet centre in the crowded life we lead,
find the room for hope to enter, find the frame where we are freed:
clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes that we can see
all the things that really matter, be at peace and simply be.

Silence is a friend who claims us, cools the heat and slows the pace,
God it is who speaks and names us, knows our being face to face,
making space within our thinking, lifting shades to show the sun,
raising courage when we’re shrinking, finding scope for faith begun.
(verses 1&2 of Come and Find the Quiet Centre, written by Shirley Erena Murray 1989)

If we are going to listen we need to make space. We need to quiet our hearts. We need to shut off the blare from social media and the news. We need to stop our own inner voices, our worries and our anxieties, even our hopes and dreams. We need to move beyond our own thoughts so that God has a chance to speak in our ears and move in our hearts. By the way, that is a whole lot easier to say than it is to do.

One thing that helps me create the silence is some form of centering prayer. Centering prayer is a form of meditation. It allows/helps/pushes us to let go of our thoughts and simply be in the presence of the Divine. It takes practise, and to be honest I need to do it far more often for my own mental health. but it helps me refocus, helps me clarify priorities, helps me sleep (I am one of those people whose anxieties and worries surface most when I am trying to go to sleep).

Over the year I have encountered a variety of meditation and relaxation exercises. Some of them have been prayer-based and some have not been. But I thought in this month when we are reflecting on “Listen” I would share one of my favourite centering prayer activities. Before each line take a deep cleansing breath. Then repeat the line and pause for whatever feels comfortable. You may find that the pauses get longer with each line, or with each time you do the exercise. The words come from Psalm 46:10:

[Deep Breath] Be still and know that I am God [Pause]

[Deep Breath] Be still and know that I am[Pause]

[Deep Breath] Be still and know [Pause]

[Deep Breath] Be still[Pause]

[Deep Breath] Be [Pause]

Let’s all take time to stop and BE and listen.
Gord