On Sunday I had the opportunity to share some thoughts with my friends at church. Taking a lead from a line in a Psalm, ‘Be still in the presence of God and wait patiently’ we thought about what it might mean to approach and be in the presence of God.
Our first port of call was to accept that we are spiritual beings. Spiritual because we have a spirit within us, we are more than our body and more than our thoughts. We have a spirit which is at the epicenter of who we are. This is the place we meet not only our true self but our God. Simply accepting or recognising this element of who we are is a part of approaching God. We might ask ‘Who is God?’ when first we should ask ‘Who am I?’
Looking through the life of Jesus you can see it was not infrequent that he went off alone. We read ‘Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed’ and ‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.’ Somehow, it seems, if we are to be still in the presence of God then finding a space alone can help. I have a few places where I find solitude. These are where I sit quite still and make my approach towards the presence of God.
If only it were that easy! This being still thing is a bit more than sitting on your hands to stop the fidgeting. We have to still the mind which means dealing with all those thoughts that crowd in. The art of finding stillness is really about putting thoughts of the past and fears of the future out of the way for a moment. Those thoughts never truly go away we just park them to be present and in the moment.
One way to start this process is to listen to our breathing. Then we stop talking internally, even talking to God. The aim is to be still, to hang out with, not rattle to God or ourselves. Imagine being so comfortable with someone that you can sit with them without needing to say or hear anything. We have relationships like that don’t we?
In his book Breathing I Pray, Ivan Mann has an intimate poem which leads to this idea of us being more than our body and more than our thoughts. He speaks of an intimacy which is beyond words and describes this inner place where you and I commune with our God. Addressing God in the poem Mann writes: ‘The place that You (God) have made for You, in me, for love.’ Say that to yourself a few times and let it sink in.
Think about it. There is a place in you that no one other than God can sit. So why not find a place of solitude and listen to your breath, still your mind and as John of the Cross wrote: ‘Don’t be surprised to find such a good Guest there.’
Rob Wykes 