Hospitality
Part of praying is like any hospitality - you have to spend a bit of time making things right for your guest. Jesus is someone who takes you as He finds you - you don’t have to put on any airs and graces for Him - just as well, really.. But - once in a while - you do have to stop and give Him - and yourself time to settle down - and this is where things get difficult. The minute you sit down and think about giving Jesus a bit of time - you immediately think of a thousand and one other things you should be doing. If you manage to hold out against that - then in comes the guilt - about not doing the one thousand and one things that you should have been doing... The person who comes up with a solution to this that works for everyone will make a fortune - except that the solution seems to lie in being in heaven - a state of eternal rest and life to which we can all look forward - but which is not really within our grasp just yet! So - this idea of spending quality-time with Jesus is already posing its problems! How do we do it - and not find ourselves thinking and fretting about something else? The answer is - we don’t! One of the very best kept secrets about prayer is that nobody - absolutely nobody can pray without distraction (save those who are enjoying eternal rest - etc - see above...) This is true - and comes as a shock to many. Even Mary must have had to give way to certain distractions sometime if you think about it! Any great saint - who you’d think could pray without any distraction whatsoever - would admit to considerable aggravation. There were the odd ones - as in being exceptions, not just "odd" - who could go off into raptures that lasted for days on end - leaving the other several hundred thousand million of us thinking that the chance would be a fine thing! Distraction - bother - and that awfully convincing feeling that you really should be doing something else are, therefore, absolutely normal. If you don’t get them - then count yourself very lucky (and maybe spend some of your undistracted prayer-time praying for the rest of us!!)
Settle yourself down with a cup of coffee - tea - or glass of something - and have a piece of paper to hand. Enjoy the moment - and jot down any thoughts and feelings that pop to mind. You can sketch them if that suits you better... Second stage - not straight after the first... Settle yourself down with a cup of coffee - tea - glass of something - and have a piece of paper close to hand. This time, tell yourself that this is prayer-time - devoted to thoughts of God - and only of God. Jot down any thoughts - feelings - ideas that pop to mind. Compare your lists... Do your lists offer any insights into what Martha was talking about? © 1999 Wellspring |
