Jesus replied, “My Father is
always working, and so am I.” John 5:17
Why is it so hard to live in that
reality? One author says its because we can’t break free from our
internal reactive commentary…
“The reactive life is strengthened
by those sudden spasms of talking, talking, talking, talking to
ourselves about life and love and how everybody ought to behave and
vote. This twittering chatter keeps the attention riveted to and
identified with objects that appear in our minds.” p. 18, The
Sunlit Absence, Martin Laird
He goes on to say that learning
to be present to God in prayer is what sets us free.
How can we do that? He tells the story
of a guy who tried to learn this by going on a silent prayer retreat.
The only problem, every day a neighbor would fire up his saw in the
garage and it literally rattled the walls of his room. He got so
ticked off he almost exploded. Finally, after a few days another
person (on his own prayer retreat in another room) went over and
confronted the guy, yelling and screaming…
But something happened. The first guy
began to see that knowing God is always working can happen in the
midst of noise. The “loudest saw” can be our own internal
commentary. Laird says in prayer we can “gradually move from
being agitated victim to silent witness” meaning we can
experience God at work.
Most days I’m like the guy who went
over to confront the neighbor. I’m learning by experience- to
witness God at work comes from being present to Him in prayer, all
through the day. Easier said than done.
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