Q - Quiet

Albert Bogle July 19, 2023 1 1

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Psalm 46: 10 (NRSVA)

10 ‘Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations,
    I am exalted in the earth.’

 

It is in the place of stillness and quiet that we encounter the power of God to sustain us through the storms of life. There is a long and rich tradition in Christianity of silence and quiet contemplation.

Thomas á Kempis the 15th century German theologian wrote: “Seek a suitable time for thy meditation, and think frequently of the mercies of God to thee. Leave curious questions. Study such matters as bring thee sorrow for sin rather than amusement. If thou withdraw thyself from trifling conversation and idle goings about, as well as from novelties and gossip, thou shalt find thy time sufficient and apt for good meditation. The greatest saints used to avoid as far as they could the company of men, and chose to live in secret with God.”

Finding time to factor in the quiet time is easier for some than others. Mainly because we are all at different stages in our lives. Yet á Kempis, still challenges us. We know we can carve out time for things we really want to do. However the important things, the moments for honest self reflection, they always somehow, get crowded out by the urgent. As for the urgent? Well they are seldom the most important of things.

An honest prayer of self examination:

Father Son and Holy Spirit,

Still my restless mind

Calm my troubled soul

For I carry many regrets

And hold too many grudges

And the burden of them has become Too great to bear

Draw near to me in these moments of honesty

And give ear to this my prayer

Before the company of heaven

And the Fellowship of the Holy Trinity

I lay down my busy schedules,

My weary worn-out heart

And worn-out excuses

My troubled thoughts and anxious fears

My tired limbs and broken promises

My self-centred ego stained life of faith

Tainted with doubt and disillusionment

Let me ‘breathe out’

The turmoil of a tortured soul

So that I can breath again

Let me ‘breathe in’

The communion of your love

The forgiveness of sins

And the resurrection of my body

In quietness and stillness I wait.