If you've been following this BLOG you know we've been encouraging you to engage in a variety of spiritual practices or disciplines because we know they work.
When we engage in spiritual practices our souls are changed.
When we engage in spiritual practices we spend time with God and become more attentive to Him.
When we engage in spiritual practices our eyes become more aware of His movement in our own lives and the lives of those we encounter.
When we engage in spiritual practices we are restored and as we are restored we become more like the One we are following.
I had the opportunity to hear Mama Maggie Gobran speak at the Leadership Summit. This woman's presence communicated as much, if not more than her words. She stepped up to the podium and immediately we sensed her humble, servant heart -- before she ever spoke a word.
I don't know much of her story other that the fact that she has spent the last 20 years following God's call to serve the poorest of the poor in the garbage slums of Cairo. I want to know more of her story and I intend to see what I find... for now I want to share one of my greatest take aways from her message and possibly the entire Leadership Summit.
Mamma Maggie spoke of the value and transformation that occurs when we practice SILENCE. She spoke of the intimacy we find with our Creator as we move into silence.
Listen to her words as she gently guided us toward fully entering silence.... She said:
You silence your body... to listen to your words.
You silence your tongue... to listen to your thoughts.
You silence your thoughts... to listen to you heart beating.
You silence your heart... to listen to your spirit.
You silence your spirit... to listen to His spirit.
In silence, she said, you leave many to be with the One.
There is something about her invitation to enter silence. I am not sure if I feel afraid or eager. I know what she is saying is true -- we have to move away from all the noise of our external and internal worlds so that we can be fully with the One.
My prayer for you and me is that we will accept her nudge to move deeper into silence so that we can truly listen to His spirit. Emptying ourselves so that we can be restored.
Would you commit to a 30 minute window in the next 2 days to practice SILENCE? You may very likely have to give up something to find the space for silence. But I think (I know) it will be worth it.
Give it a Try:
Follow Mamma Maggie's example.
Find a quiet place where distractions are eliminated or at least minimized.
Invite God to join you and tell him you've set this time aside to listen. Then slowly move into silence.
I'd encourage you to use these prompts to help you quiet yourself and listen. As distractions come up, just simply lay them down by imagining you are setting the aside to be quiet and listen. Remember, we are not used to silence so do not get discouraged by internal distractions. Just simply lay them down and be still.
Silence your body (stop moving / sit down) ... to listen to your words (you may want to journal or write down what comes to your mind or speak the words).
Silence your tongue (stop writing and/or talking)... to listen to your thoughts (just listen / do not fix or problem solve / just listen).
Silence your thoughts (let it all go) ... to listen to you heart beating (just listen to your heart beating).
You silence your heart (now allow your soul to emerge and allow your heart beats to move to the background)... to listen to your spirit (Be Still).
Silence your spirit... to listen to His spirit.
Be Still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
Just be-- allowing God to minister to your soul. To restore you. To comfort you. To encourage you. To love you.
In silence you leave many to be with the One.;Don't critique this experience. Don't evaluate your performance. Just keep practicing silence and letting go of all the things you hold so tightly to and as you do you will find you are sitting at God's feet listening to His heart.
Savor your time alone with God allow Him to restore all things.
Comments
Post a Comment