God’s Presence in Silence (Chapter 12) (Friday in the fifth week of Lent)
PAUSE
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly to recenter my scattered senses upon the presence of God.
(pause)
I pray Psalm 83: 1, repeating the words slowly, several times:
“O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a dear ear, do not stand aloof, 0 God.”
REFLECT
Bible: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Ps23: 1-4)
Book passage: Holy Saturday is the day on which we wonder, Where is God? Yet the answer may be that He is here wit us in the muck. When we are present in a situation – no matter how terrible it may be – He cannot be absent. Whenever life gets tough and we cry out to God for help, our desire is always to be airlifted out of the theater of war. But more often than not, instead of airlifting us to safety, God parachutes down to join us in the muck and chaos of our situation. (p.191)
ASK
Ask myself: It’s only natural to want God to airlift me out of “the darkest valley” with a miracle, but are there any signs that He has actually parachuted in to join me here instead?
Ask the Lord: I take time now to thank You Lord that “even though I walk through the darkest
valley … you are with me,” and for the signs of Your goodness at work in my life.
YIELD
A prayer of surrender by Richard Foster:
Today, 0 Lord, I yield myself to You. May Your will be my delight today. May You have perfect sway in me. May your love be the pattern of my living. I surrender to You my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions. Do with them what You will, when You will, as You will. I place into Your loving care my family, my friends, my future. Care for them with a care that I can never give. I release into Your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity. Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish Your kingdom on earth. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.*
*Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco: Harper, 1992), 24.
