Nourishment for the Soul

There are many ways to pray. One is not better or worse than another. The purpose of prayer is to quiet our soul. To place ourselves at the feet of Jesus and in total abandonment receive His healing grace which flows freely from the eternal into our souls. If we can still our minds long enough to quiet our interior dialogue we will “hear” or sense His Divine presence.

In today’s world that becomes an almost impossible task, with gaming systems, ipads, ipods, tablets, TV and computer. We have instantaneous access to persons, places, things. Knowledge at our fingertips. It is hard to resist the temptations. So much noise, so much rush, so much pressure, to know, to see, to be included. It’s mind boggling. With social media, we can know what others are doing and thinking 24-by-7 and we judge ourselves and lives by this information. Our attention is on “me”. If we monitor our self-talk (interiority) we would find that we are concerned with thoughts like "did I get that email or text. Did someone 'like' my tweet or my Facebook status? How many hits did I have on Pinterest?" Our focus dwells on exterior validation instead of the interior disposition. If we are not careful, we can become entrenched in this type of self-validation, which could affect us at the interior level to the point where satan has full access to numb your mind to anything eternal.

The task is to find ways to quiet our interiority. First, we have to take stock on how much time we spend in useless noise and evaluate if we need it or not. Then, start slowly by limiting our time on the computer, gaming systems, social media and TV. It will be hard for the temptation will be; just one look, just one text, just one game. It becomes like an addiction when you become aware of how much time is wasted doing it.

Once this is under control, practice sitting quietly for 5 minutes. It will seem like an eternity, 30 seconds in and we start to feel our heart beating, it makes you nervous….how much longer? Next comes the urge to move, you start fidgeting, perhaps your arm itches or your legs twitch….it’s been a minute and a half. Oh Dear Lord, help me!!!! Somewhere around 2 minutes in you feel yourself begin to physically rest. It feels good like gravity pulling you into itself. However your mind is still racing, ever so slowly your eyes close and your head drops. Wow this feels good! Your breathing becomes deeper and the tensions of the day seem to melt away. At some point, if you let it come, your mind will become completely quiet. You’re about 3 minutes in but you don’t realize it, at this point the thought and interior dialogue is yours. You are finally alone with yourself and your thoughts. It is so peaceful, deep rest peaceful. When the timer goes off, you think it’s been longer that 5 minutes, you’re sure of it. But it’s not!!!

The purpose of the 5 minute exercise is two-fold; practice makes perfect, and it proves to ourselves that we can spare five minutes. The added bonus is we feel refreshed and clear headed. When this practice is adopted into our day, we will find that it will take less and less time to get into the deep quiet space, where prayer begins. We might expand it to 10 or 15 minutes. But 5 minutes is a good place to start.

In that space where prayer begins is the sanctuary of our soul. Where we are one with the Lord, Our Creator. It is a peaceful give and take like two old friends talking. Grace flows like energy from the eternal source, illuminating our mind with ideas, solutions, understanding and healing. The more we dwell here the more calmly we will move about our day.

When we quiet our interiority, we can see clearly the moments of our lives. Each encounter, conversation and situation can be seen with the eye of eternity given to us for our benefit. Living in that knowledge is freeing and gives immense meaning to our lives.

If our lives start to become overwhelming, and we are caught up in the noise and technology of the world, remember it only takes 5 minutes to begin again!