Dealing with Stray Thoughts

13 01 2012

What do I do with anxious, lustful or other unwelcome thoughts that surface when I’m praying, or worshiping, or somehow trying to offer God my attention?

In Listening at Prayer (p. 78), Benedict Groeschel suggests that “By allowing the real issues of the interior life–our emotions, needs, conflicts, joys, and sorrows–to surface in His presence we may be able to make our Savior’s words operative in our own lives.” He reminds me of that as I “try to grasp one of these thoughts and look at it in the presence of Christ who seeks my sanctification more than I can ever imagine (77).”

He offers the specific illustration of fear: “Perhaps the distracting thought is a fear that has been troubling me. Silently I present it to my Savior, who overcame the fear of the Cross. I share my fear with him in silence…. In ways that human words are not able to express He reminds me that He once lived in this world, that He experienced these things Himself, or saw His friends and disciples struggle with them.”

Jesus, do you really understand my fears? Will you enable me to live above them in the powerful love of the Father that overcomes fear? I cannot overcome these deep struggles and conflicts alone. Only You can help me overcome them. As I am silent now in Your presence, I feel those fears rising above the surface before You. May I feel Your acceptance, Your forgiveness, Your empowering now.

When you encountered strangers, You saw them through eyes of love. Love empowered you to give something to the strangers you met. May I find the same resource operating in me. May Your love replace my fears and worries. There are still many places where there is much too much of me and not enough of You, Jesus.

I’m never more bold and courageous than when I remembering deeply that You are with me and for me. To Joshua You said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (1:9).” The only way that I can obey a command to “not be afraid” is by reflecting on and remembering the reality of Who God is and that He is actually with me. He has graciously come to my side. He is seeking my good and my progress. He desires to make me the best person I can be for His praise.

Thank You, Father. When I am afraid, it is a sure sign that there are some ways that I have failed to fully comprehend the reality of Your gracious presence with me. Help me to become more and more aware that You truly are with me. I am never alone. You are always with me. I do not need to fear because fear is not reflective of reality.

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Categories : God's presence, listening to God, Spiritual Direction

Looking Back: Cultivating Holy Rhythms of Life

11 05 2010

I continue today to recover from a lovely cold/flu that’s parked in my chest. Hurray for antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine. So I’ll make this one short.

E. Glenn Hinson, in an article from Weavings (May/June 2002), talked about how we might more deeply practice the presence of God in our lives through rhythms of daily and occasional disengagements from our activities to simply be in the presence of God.

Read more of “Cultivating Holy Rhythms of Life


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Categories : listening to God, Rhythm of Life, rhythms, silence, solitude, Spiritual Formation

Looking Back: Listening to God in Our Serving

11 04 2010

In September 2009, I posted a quotation from Gary Thomas about the place of listening to God in the midst of our ministry engagements.

Read more of “Listening to God in Our Serving”

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Categories : listening to God, Ministry, Service

Why Do We Resist Solitude?

22 03 2010

I lead many retreats these days with solitude and silence with God at the heart of them. It feels like a fringe benefit of my ministry role. I love guiding others in vital encounter with an unfailingly loving God. Nothing encourages me more. Along the way, I’ve noticed different kinds of resistance people have to spending time alone and quiet with God.

Last November, I experienced the cultural resistance of the Dominican pastors. They are rarely if ever alone. A few American missionaries were very doubtful as to whether the pastors would be able to handle two hours alone…let alone with God. There is a cultural sense that if you are alone, there must be something wrong with you. In fact, on the day retreat I led for them, one of the pastors walked to the end of the retreat center driveway and sat on a rock. Someone walking by actually made a point of walking over and asking him, “What’s wrong?” This is the “we just don’t do that here” form of resistance. It can happen in churches as easily as in countries. .

Some Christian leaders feel a temperament resistance. They may say, “Solitude is for introverts, but I’m an extrovert. I prefer to be with others. I grow most in community.” Solitude doesn’t devalue community, but is a rhythm that enriches community. My experience is that the deepest and most united community is a fruit of a deeper communion with God cultivated in solitude. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the one who said, “Let [the one] who cannot be alone beware of community…. Let [the one] who is not in community beware of being alone.”

Finally, there is what I’d call a productivity resistance, like the CEO who says, “I’m a driven person. I don’t have time to waste in solitude like that. Solitude is for less productive people.” Leaders think that solitude is for monk-like people and not activist leaders. They think time spent alone with God will somehow reduce the fruit of their ministry. I would simply suggest that Paul the apostle was a great leader and a great pray-er. He experienced solitude on long walks between cities and in seasons of imprisonment along the way. Did he have a fruitful ministry?

And who is going to argue that Jesus was a weak leader? It is said that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Lk 5:16).” Often. Not rarely. Or occasionally. Or at times. Often. What might that mean for our own rhythm of life as Christ-followers?

What kinds of resistance rise up in you to “often withdrawing to lonely places to pray”? Busyness? Fear? Guilt?

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Categories : EPC, listening to God, Prayer, resistance, silence, solitude, spiritual leadership, temperament

A Little Treasure Hunting

16 03 2010

The blog has been pretty quiet, visitors-wise, over the extended weekend, so I’m posting links to the last six posts and inviting you to choose one that sounds fitting for you today. If you’ve already read them all, I’ve included a good word from my recent spiritual reading at the end of this post:

  • “A Victory of Transforming Love” – A great word from Elton Trueblood about how Christ and his kingdom won not by muscle-power, but by love.
  • “Love at the Only Starting Point” – The great saints haven’t been the one climbing highest on the moral ladder, but the one who have let themselves be loved most by God (and loved Him back).
  • “Practicing God’s Presence in the Midst” – No matter what we are doing, even if it is our spiritual practices, Brother Lawrence invites us to stop here and there to simply adore God in the depths of our hearts.
  • “The Transforming Power of Remembering Our Stories” – When our lives, our communities, even our ministry organizations, begin to grow spiritually stale, remembering our early faith stories can be a source of refreshment and renewal.
  • “The Problem of Functional Atheism” – When and where in my life do I forget God, assume God doesn’t care much, or even deny Him? It may not be where you think…
  • “A Good Word: God Loves Beauty” – Frank Laubach reminds us that God created, and therefore loves what is beautiful. You might be surprised where God sees the greatest beauty in creation.

And, as I promised, here’s something I came across in my recent reading on the theme of unhurry:

“It is related of St. Catherine of Siena that one day she asked Our Lord why it was that God has so often revealed Himself to the patriarchs, prophets and Christian of early times but rarely did so in her own time. Our Lord replied that it was because they were devoid of self-esteem and came to Him as faithful disciplines to await His inspiration, allowing themselves to be fashioned like gold in the crucible or painted on by His hands like an artists canvas, and letting Him write the law of love in their hearts. But the Christians of her time acted as if He could not see or hear them, and wanted to do and say everything by themselves, keeping themselves so busy and restless that they would not allow Him to work in them. Note that Our Savior has already tried to warn us against such excess in the Gospel when He said When you pray, do not multiply words as the Gentiles do; for they think that by saying a great deal they will be heard. So do not be like them for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Saint-Jure, Fr. Jean Baptiste and Claude de la Colombière, S. J. Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence. Rockford: TAN Books and Publisher, 1983, p. 77-78.)

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Categories : Elton Trueblood, Gerald May, listening to God, love, love of God, Practicing the Presence, Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Formation, story

The Right Kind of Hurry

2 03 2010

As I continue to think, read and write on the theme of Unhurried Time, I see new insights in familiar passages. For example, I saw this James recently:

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because our anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (1:19-21)

James says when it comes to speaking and losing our temper, unhurried is the way to go. But when it comes to listening, we should jump at the opportunity. Is this how you regularly function? Me either. My pattern is too often the opposite. I can’t wait to say what’s on my mind. I can be very quick to lose patience. And when it comes to listening, I’m as sluggish as honey on a winter morning. I have a definite bias for speaking over listening. And my anger level is one measure of which I’m doing more.

As an introvert, you’d think counsel like this would be right up my alley. But as a leader, I usually solve things by talking. I’m a speaker, a teacher, and a presenter. I speak for a living. Slow to speak can feel unprofitable. But maybe following this counsel would be more fruitful than I expect. Maybe listening better would reduce the anger that jars my relationship with God and with others.

Where is my listening focused? James says, “Humbly [accept] the word planted in us which can save us.” I’m listening especially when it comes to what God is saying to me through scripture. Listening and salvation are working partners. I tend to seek rescue through saying something. But listening is a receptive mode of life. It’s a way of acknowledging that I need to hear what God and others have to say, that I need help from another. Do I believe this? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t.

Reflection Questions:

  • In the very next conversation you have (live or on the phone), experiment with listening more than you speak. Trying asking a few more questions and making a few less statements. Seek to really understand the person you are speaking with. What might God have for you through what they are saying?
  • When it comes to reading scripture next time, perhaps read a few less verses and read them a few more times. Slowly. Receptively. As a listener. What is God saying through the scripture by the Spirit to your heart? What help is He offering?

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Categories : Leadership, listening to God, salvation, scripture reflection, Unhurried

A Good Word: Listening When We Speak

24 11 2009

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“A sermon cannot reach the level which spiritual religion demands unless the preacher is continuously sensitive to the needs of those about him, so that he is ready to shift either subject matter or emphasis on a moment’s notice. The true minister is not simply one who comes to the end of his openness to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.” (Elton Trueblood. The Essence of Spiritual Religion. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1936, p. 132)

 

I think this is what I am learning in preparation for retreats and presentations. Often, in the midst of retreat speaking or church preaching, I will feel “Spirit-nudged off-topic” moments. I sometimes wish I could capture those insights, but I might be tempted to rely on past insights and wisdom rather than welcoming fresh insights for fresh circumstances.

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Categories : Elton Trueblood, listening to God, Preaching, Retreat

A Few Retreat Resources

17 10 2009

Today, I had the treat of leading another day retreat—one of our Come Away spiritual leadership retreats at the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange, CA. The group was the core team giving leadership to chapels and spiritual life from Biola University. We had a wonderful day together. I was very encouraged by ways God met each of us in the hours of solitude, silence and prayer.

Let me mention a few things related to retreats:

  • A friend made me aware that my list of Southern California retreats had a number of outdated links. I spent about an hour yesterday updating those I could, and removing those I couldn’t. If you are looking for a retreat center, this list is a very helpful places to start.
  • Yesterday, I also posted a link to a PDF resource we use to help those new to the experience of extended personal communion (what we call EPC) with God in solitude, silence and prayer. We’ve given it to thousands of retreat participants. (Note: If clicking this link brings up a bunch of computer code, try right clicking and saving the file somewhere)
  • Today, I am leading another one of our “An Unhurried Day with Jesus,” this time at William Mason Park in Irvine, CA. It is a great introduction to EPC. There are a number of others dates over the coming school year: The next few Unhurried Days are:

10/31/09 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Vineyard [Flyer]
12/5/09 – Rosemead, CA – Evergreen Baptist Church L.A. [Flyer]
1/9/10 – Laguna Hills, CA – Lake Hills Community Church
2/13/10 – Irvine, CA – Woodbridge Community Church
2/20/10 – San Gabriel, CA – Mission Valley Free Methodist Church

Some young families are planning to alternate husband and wife on these days.

Finally, I’m including a link below to a great pair of posts from August 2009 commenting on the experience of solitude, silence and prayer from Ann Morrow Lindbergh’s classic book, Gift From the Sea. You’ll enjoy it…

LINK: “Capturing Quiet Spaces for God”


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Categories : EPC, listening to God, Online resources, Prayer, Rest, Retreat, Sabbath, silence, solitude

Looking Back: Listening in Prayer

15 10 2009

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In November 2007, I posted something from Thomas Green’s book A Vacation with the Lord on listening to God. The book is a popularization of Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. A hunger to learn to listen well to the Lord is one of the needs that surfaces often in my spiritual direction and retreat leading ministry.

READ MORE AT: “Listening in Prayer“

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Categories : listening to God, Prayer, spiritual disciplines, Thomas Green

A Good Word: Listening to God in our Serving

5 09 2009

img_1885“We stand on dangerous ground if we ever let service to God crowd out our time of listening to God. Gordon Smith, in his fine book On the Way, writes quite bluntly, ‘It is inconceivable to think that God would give us so much to do that we can no longer spend extended time with Him. Listening doesn’t detract from our service; it empowers it.” (Thomas, Gary L. Sacred Parenting. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 64.)

We are privileged to join Jesus in His kingdom building work around us. We are even more privileged to do so as beloved sons and daughters of God through faith. Sometimes those of us in ministry (paid or volunteer) forget the privilege of relationship through being consumed by our work for Him.

What good thing is keeping you from spending extended time with God these days? How might you engage in the good work He’s prepared just for you from a place of communion with Him, rather than doing so in a way that tends to distract you from Him?

Buy a copy of Gary Thomas’s Sacred Parenting: How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls on Amazon.com


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Categories : listening to God, Ministry, Service

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