This past week in Sunday class, we talked about the birth of the contemplative movement by monks who left the hubbub of the city life in order to find a place to pray and meditate on God. Since studying for last week’s class, I haven’t been able to shake the stories of these monks who left the comfort of the world to seek God in the desert.
For much of my life, prayer always seemed like the last thing I did. It was like seeking a divine “cherry on top” to all of my plans for success. Yet, these monks have challenged me to think otherwise about prayer. I have been challenged by the contemplatives to see our lives as first lived through prayer. However, I often get this backwards.
For far too many of my days I have been in such a rush to start living, that upon waking up from my slumber I immediately look for something to do…take a shower, eat breakfast, go to work, check email, invest in people, etc. I am full of activity the rest of the day right up to the time of going to sleep, and then I repeat. After reading about the wisdom of the contemplatives, I am beginning to see that maybe I am in too much of a rush. Maybe there is something to solitude, silence and reflection that I have not valued.
Recently, I led a three day sabbatical for students at Carolina and one for students at Duke as well. They still went to class and did their homework. The focus wasn’t on stopping our work entirely, it was on placing our focus on God’s work both in our lives and in the lives of those who are not yet followers of Christ. We met together for prayer in the morning before class and for dinner at the end of the day. What many of us discovered was a new way of living. Living a prayer-filled life actually is the only way to live.
As we spent our time praying about God’s agenda (and placing our agendas on the back burner), many of the students found themselves engaging in conversations about God with friends who don’t follow Jesus. One gal had a friend, who was going through some hard times, ask her to go to Duke Chapel with her after class, and pray for her. Her friend was not a Christian, but God used the moment to encourage someone who was struggling with life.
In carving out the space to live a prayer-filled life, I find myself thinking differently, seeing differently, and acting differently. In essence, I am beginning to really live as a result of submitting myself to God through prayer.
Pray with me that we would be a community that doesn’t get ahead of ourselves by rushing out too quickly to start living. Pray that we would be a community that would live our lives through prayer.
