space, wednesday

Wednesday, August 13

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer: Teach me, God to make room for you in all the events and affairs of my days.  Then I shall find rest.  Then I will be at peace with myself and with you. (Norman Shawchuck in A Guide To Prayer for All Who Seek God)

Scripture Reading for the Day: Romans 5:1-2

Reading for Reflection:

 

We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. (Romans 5:2 - The Message)

I read these words the other day and just can’t get away from them, they have continued to echo and reverberate deeply within me. I guess that's because the idea of spaciousness has been one I have always been drawn to. Maybe it’s because of the freedom (and life and grace) that is inherent in a spacious place. A spacious place offers room: room to roam, room to grow, room to flourish, room to be, and room to become.  I like room.  I don’t like to be crowded or constricted or constrained. And I don’t just like room, I need room…the life of God within me requires it. It seems to me that the very life of the Spirit is one of spaciousness, ever expanding us within. The more deeply we journey into God, the more room there is, and the more spacious and free life becomes. I like that!  I like it a lot!  It is so inviting.  It makes me want to throw my doors open completely to him; knowing that when I do I find his doors already wide open before me, with the wide open spaces of his grace and love going on and on and on. What could be more inviting than that?

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

         

Closing Prayer: To the great companion.  I tend to bury myself in the urgent, the trivial, the quickly fleeting nonsense of my harried, hurried life, until there’s no room for you.  I am an expert at coming up with elaborate ways to distract myself from the things that matter most.  I’m running as fast as I can and every hour is another frantic stride.  I used ti think I was running toward you, then for a while I thought I was running away from you.  But in truth you’ve been running beside me this whole time. (A Heart Exposed by Steven James)