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Welcome. To the John Mack Coma

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Teachings Podcast. I'm strong, calm in your

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host and part of the teaching team

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here at practicing The Way Each week

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on the podcast we share a teaching

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from John Mack what other trusted voices

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in the formation space. Today

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we continue our series in

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partnership with Bridgetown Church on

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nine Practices for Rule of

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Life and this teaching. Tyler

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explores the practice of solitude

0:30

as an act of sacred

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waiting in solitude. He tells us

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we discovered depth and develop a

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relationship build more on God's presence

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than his gifts or in the

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words one monk, solitude is where

0:43

our soul grows up. As

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you listen, you might like to

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contemplate the question: how do I

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experience seasons of waiting on God.

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He. Has Tyler. Some.

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One Thirty One. My.

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Heart is not proud lord. My.

1:02

Eyes are not hadi. I

1:04

do not concern myself with great

1:06

matters or things to wonderful for

1:09

me, but I have calmed and

1:11

quieted myself. And I'm like a

1:13

weaned child with it's mother. Like

1:15

a weaned child, I am content.

1:18

Israel, put your hope and the

1:20

Lord. Both. Now and forever

1:22

more. This. Is the Were lord. Thanks

1:25

be to gone. In

1:32

her phenomenal memoir Assuming Kid describes

1:34

in detail the crisis point in

1:36

her spiritual life she a

1:38

follower of Jesus, a wife and

1:41

a working mom was right in

1:43

the think i'm the chaos that

1:46

his mid life. Her kids have

1:48

now grown old enough to have

1:50

begun to find some independence

1:52

and so she was functioning more

1:55

as like soccer mom chauffeur. Than

1:57

she was stroller pushing and playground

1:59

sitting. At this particular stage and

2:01

with a little bit more independence

2:03

for her children, came a little

2:05

more independence for her. And so

2:07

she's reads to pick up some

2:09

of those aspects of her life.

2:11

She had differed in the toddler

2:13

years, her work, and her hobbies

2:15

and her past sins, but she

2:17

was also confronted by so much

2:19

that she had deferred within herself

2:21

in the daily chaos that is

2:23

raising toddlers resentment that had built

2:25

up in her marriage over time,

2:27

some loss of her sense of

2:29

self. Like Sushi used to be,

2:31

she wasn't any more, but he

2:34

she was becoming hadn't come into

2:36

clear focus yet either. And then

2:38

some loss of God of knowing

2:40

God in her everyday ordinary lives

2:42

the way she had been used

2:44

to before. And so in the

2:46

midst of all of that see

2:48

traveled to St. Minor, an arch

2:50

avid which is a benedictine monastery

2:52

and state of Indiana in an

2:54

attempt to slow down and sort

2:56

some of the South. But

2:58

even there living as a slow

3:00

contemplative pace of the monks for

3:03

a time hurts piece was constantly

3:05

being interrupted by the inner chaos

3:07

the she carried with her even

3:09

to the monasteries she would spray

3:11

was amongst in the chapel but

3:13

then walk out of. that's how

3:16

fulfilling, calm and peaceful and close

3:18

to gods and be immediately confronted

3:20

by this in or is a

3:22

need to keep on moving into

3:24

act and to solve a need

3:26

for some print productivity. Or a

3:29

productive into this retreat and

3:31

need to have a tidy

3:33

way of describing some the

3:35

fruit of this retreat to

3:37

her husband when she returned

3:39

back home. So there she

3:41

is: externally quiet but internally

3:43

so noisy. And. She

3:45

notices a month sitting underneath the

3:47

tree on this quiet mid winter

3:50

morning. The perfect pictures piece of

3:52

been he pulled low down over

3:54

his ears to keep warm and

3:56

see approach is him and says

3:59

you're. No and quiet.

4:01

How can you just wait? Wait

4:03

on God and wait on your

4:06

own ceiling? How can you wait

4:08

so patiently and the moment? I

4:10

just can't get used to the

4:13

idea of doing nothing. He

4:16

broke into a wonderful grin. Or.

4:19

There's the problem right there, young lady,

4:22

You bought into the cultural miss

4:24

that when you're waiting, you're doing nothing

4:27

Then he took his hands and place

4:29

them on my shoulders, feared straight into

4:31

my eyes, and said, i hope

4:33

you'll hear what I'm about to tell

4:36

you, I hope you'll hear it all

4:38

the way down to your toes When

4:40

you're waiting. You're not doing nothing, you're

4:43

doing the most important something there

4:45

is. Your. Allowing your soul

4:47

to grow up. If.

4:49

You can't weights. You.

4:51

Can't be com. Or. God

4:54

created you to be. Currently.

4:57

Runs teaching series in practice titled

4:59

Unforced Rhythms of Grace Nine for

5:02

Practices for a rule of Life

5:04

and the Heart Mine The whole

5:06

thing is Jesus is compelling invitation

5:08

to a white bird and and

5:10

soul rest summarized and nine for

5:13

practices that make up the easy

5:15

Oath of Jesus. And so far

5:17

we've covered prayer and are scripture

5:19

and up for today is solitude.

5:21

We want to increasingly become a

5:24

community of peace and quiet and

5:26

a culture of anxiety. A noise

5:28

through the practice of solitude

5:30

as Solitude explained is simply

5:32

as possible as a spiritual

5:34

practice of being still and

5:36

quiet in the presence of

5:39

God which. Sounds simple enough.

5:42

But. Of course, it's not as easy

5:44

as it seems because you and I

5:46

have a whole lot more in common

5:48

with Sue Them We do with that

5:51

month in the Beanie Sitting under the

5:53

Tree Is he Western culture, generally speaking,

5:55

resists solitude. Stillness As wide

5:57

as it sounds and are hyper distracted.

6:00

Pension Deficit World Recent studies have

6:02

concluded that American college students on

6:04

average switch tasks every sixty five

6:06

seconds, focusing on a single topic

6:08

for nineteen seconds at a time,

6:10

and before the boomers among us

6:12

begin to feel superior. You should

6:14

also know that a similar study

6:17

was done on the average working

6:19

adult to discover that working adults

6:21

focus on a single task for

6:23

an average of three minutes at

6:25

a time before switching to the

6:27

next thing officer, You and I

6:29

are habitually distracted. And we

6:31

may be tempted to assume that social

6:34

media and the cell phones richer on

6:36

in our pockets or the culprits of

6:38

that's and those certainly haven't helped. But

6:41

the primary culprit seems to be the

6:43

amount of information that the human person

6:45

is taking. And today according to the

6:48

research for of the Universe of Catalonia,

6:50

a two thousand seven survey concluded as

6:52

you added up all of the information

6:54

a human being takes in each day

6:57

or television, podcast, books, all of it's

6:59

it would. Amounts to the equivalent

7:01

to one hundred and seventy

7:03

four eighty five page newspapers

7:05

per day. Add

7:08

another fifteen years to that. And

7:10

you've got the amount of information your brain

7:12

is trying to process every day. We

7:15

are fire hosing our brains.

7:17

Was content with far more

7:19

information and content than we

7:21

can actually process making a

7:23

conclusion. All this research lead

7:25

researcher soon layman said what

7:27

we are sacrificing his death.

7:30

Deaths. Takes time, That.

7:32

Takes reflection, It's. A

7:35

commitment. The cultural waters

7:37

you and I swim and or

7:39

frenzied. hurried and distracted, straining our

7:42

inner lives to be noisy. Far

7:44

too noisy for sitting beneath a

7:46

tree on a mid winter morning,

7:48

perfectly content in the peace and

7:50

quiet of waiting we are sacrificing

7:53

deaths for breaths. Easy.

7:56

What? A slowdown, then. Not.

7:58

So fast. I'm

8:00

I have not become hyper

8:03

distracted over hurried consumers passively.

8:05

We've. Done it actively. We've developed

8:07

a set of habits that makes

8:10

stillness and quiet next to impossible.

8:12

Because of our muscle memory, we

8:14

touch our phones on average two

8:16

thousand and six hundred and seventeen

8:18

times per day looking at that

8:20

little screen for three hours and

8:22

fifteen minutes. We watch shows in

8:25

the evenings, often over dinner. We

8:27

listen to podcasts while we exercise

8:29

and commutes our wheels, the or

8:31

to audio book sold for the

8:33

laundry or do the dishes with

8:35

cultivated. His way of being in

8:38

the world that eliminates quiet stillness

8:40

and in activities. So of course

8:42

sitting quietly under a tree like

8:44

a monk, doing nothing in particular

8:46

with nothing in particular to directs

8:48

my attention towards gives us the

8:51

jitters of an addict in need

8:53

of the sex. Marion Woodman, an

8:55

expert on addiction, defines and addictive

8:57

behavior as. Anything we

8:59

use repeatedly. And compulsively

9:01

to stop our personal

9:04

growth. See.

9:07

Rights or I'm sorry. Go

9:09

Clinical Psychologist and Wilson says

9:11

or describes process addiction which

9:13

occur when a person becomes

9:15

hooked on a specific set

9:18

of actions to avoid internal

9:20

pain or personal growth. And

9:22

Wilson say fries and addictive

9:24

behavior keeps his own aware

9:26

of what is going on

9:28

the inside of us. And.

9:31

By that definition, wouldn't it be? Fair

9:33

to say that my need put earbuds

9:35

and while I'm doing a mindless task

9:37

alone or my inability to go on

9:39

a job without a soundtrack of the

9:41

weights that I can't remember the last

9:43

time I had a Netflix series go

9:45

Under the Way, I cannot wait for

9:47

a friend to go to the bathroom

9:49

at a restaurant without taking my phone

9:51

out of my pocket. Wouldn't it be

9:53

fair to call all of these behaviors

9:55

addictions, or at the very least some

9:57

pulses? Missouri.

10:00

Those are businesses like the weather.

10:03

Everyone. Complains about it. When.

10:05

No one does anything about. And.

10:09

Maybe that's because we don't want to. Or.

10:12

Even if we did, Or. Not

10:14

really sure how. Get

10:18

behind me Satan. Jesus.

10:21

Said that to Peter, one of his

10:23

closest friends, and Matthew chapter sixteen as

10:25

one of Jesus As more jarring moments,

10:28

Jesus says a whole lot of really

10:30

comforting stuff like the whole light bird,

10:32

an uneasy yo' thing I was talking

10:34

about a minute ago, But he also

10:37

says some some really jarring confrontational stuff

10:39

like debt and behind me Satan to

10:41

one of his close friends in the

10:43

middle of a conversation or in contact

10:46

Peter. I'm so Jesus had just broken

10:48

the news that while Peter and the

10:50

others were expecting. The Messiah com

10:52

as a triumphant came to an

10:55

a military victory. He was something

10:57

even better than that steed some

10:59

to win the most decisive victory

11:01

in the human in human history

11:03

or by sacrifice. And Das Peter

11:06

noticing the Jesus was now far

11:08

off of his imaginative script of

11:10

where the whole story was going

11:12

full Jesus aside to correct him,

11:15

Jesus turned and said to Peter

11:17

get behind me Satan. I.

11:19

Was the first lessons that you are

11:22

as a child is the name calling

11:24

his impolite. I know no matter how

11:26

off base someone elses name calling is

11:28

always out of the question. And this

11:31

statement from Jesus comes quite literally size

11:33

of versus as three told Peter by

11:35

a very different name the rock on

11:38

which he would build the church. So

11:40

which one is it? I mean the

11:42

sequence of events seems irresponsibly unsettling. To

11:44

put it mildly, I mean Judas think

11:47

it's is kind of treatment when he

11:49

sold. Your life for a handful of coins.

11:51

So what's the deal? Rabbi. Dallas.

11:55

Willard called Hurry the great enemy of

11:57

the spiritual life. To the modern was

11:59

some. The. Great

12:01

revivalist of spiritual formation and in

12:03

the American Church. Richard Foster He

12:06

says in contemporary society our our

12:08

adversary which is a biblical title

12:10

for Satan are adversary majors and

12:12

three things: noise, hurry and crowds.

12:14

If he can keep us engage

12:17

in much Smith's and many this

12:19

he will rest satisfied. The.

12:21

Swiss psychiatrists Carl Young. To get a step

12:23

further than that, Hurry is not of the

12:26

devil. It is the devil. And

12:29

maybe Foster and Young aren't

12:31

using dramatic and archaic language

12:33

to levy and overstated critique

12:35

of modern American lives. Maybe

12:37

they're just repeating something that

12:39

Jesus said to one of

12:41

his closest friends. and the

12:43

first century Middle East. What

12:46

is a noisy and or

12:48

lies at it's core is

12:50

not the product of our

12:52

modern, hyper distracted world, but

12:54

instead as an ancient and

12:56

constant tendency to get a

12:58

step ahead of Jesus to

13:00

assume we know where the

13:02

story is going and to

13:04

insists that our spiritual formation

13:06

move at our place rather

13:08

than his. The real

13:11

issue with a noisy hurry life is

13:13

not a frenetic pace or and overstressed

13:15

psyche or distracted mind that mean all

13:17

of that is important and her is

13:19

the culprit of all of that and

13:21

is is affecting you probably more than

13:24

you are aware of. But the real

13:26

issue was hurry is our forever tendency

13:28

to get ahead of Jesus. To. Like

13:30

Peter, assume we know where the

13:32

story is going and rush to

13:34

get the earth's to and says

13:37

insists that our spirits of formation

13:39

moved to the pace of our

13:41

culture rather than the pace of

13:43

our Rabbi. Our inner

13:46

lives apart from solitude

13:48

become reflections of our

13:50

outer world. Noisy, busy,

13:52

cluttered, What. We're sacrificing

13:54

his death. Deaths.

13:57

Takes time, That.

13:59

Six for. The action. And

14:01

it it's commitments. Solitude.

14:04

Is the spiritual practice of allowing Jesus

14:06

to form our inner lives according to

14:09

his pace maker. Inner lives a compelling

14:11

contradictions of the world around us rather

14:13

than a reflection of it solitude as

14:16

way of giving gone space to make

14:18

me quiet in a noisy world and

14:20

deep in a shallow culture and to

14:23

grow up in a forever young city

14:25

and that sets us back to are

14:27

teaching text so as you would look

14:29

back with me as your bibles as

14:32

Psalm One Hundred and. Thirty One.

14:36

My. Heart is not proud board, my

14:39

eyes are not hardy. I do

14:41

not concern myself with great matters

14:43

or things to wonderful for me

14:45

but as homes and glided myself

14:47

I'm like a when child with

14:49

his mother, Like a weaned child.

14:51

I'm concerns Israel put your hope

14:53

in the lord both now and

14:55

forever more. This

14:57

song offers as a picture of the

14:59

apprentice of Jesus a child. and that's

15:02

familiar, right? Jesus uses this image quite

15:04

a lot. Unless you become like a

15:06

child, you cannot enter the kingdom of

15:08

God. Let the little children come to

15:11

me for her to to such belongs

15:13

the kingdom of Heaven, that sort of

15:15

them. But the ancient prayer of someone

15:17

thirty one gets more specific about the

15:19

I'm It's not just any child, a

15:22

weaned child. Now. As

15:24

any mother will tell you, for

15:26

an infant, every need is a

15:29

crisis. When an infant feel hungry,

15:31

they don't ask their mom for

15:33

a snack. They throw themselves into

15:36

a kicking and screaming, full blown

15:38

meltdown. A hungry. Infant is

15:40

in crisis demanding milk

15:42

and demanding it now.

15:45

Until the need is satisfied and

15:47

the second set need as much

15:49

peace overtakes that little ball of

15:52

chaos. And then fall

15:54

asleep. Perfectly. At resting

15:56

concerns on their mothers just.

16:00

More. An hour or so. The

16:03

Need A Spells. Again and then it's

16:06

a whole nother prices all over again.

16:08

For an instant, every need is a

16:10

crisis and piece is the temporary satisfaction

16:12

of my most urgent thought need. And

16:14

that's how most of us come into

16:17

the spiritual eyes. And. Unfortunately,

16:19

the stages in the search realize

16:21

that many of us never mature

16:23

beyond. We. Associate peace with

16:25

the satisfaction of our needs and

16:27

every new need is a new

16:30

crisis. We're forever rearranging the House

16:32

of Cards. It is the circumstances

16:34

of our laws until the slightest

16:36

breeze tops the whole thing, over

16:38

disrupting our peace and then we're

16:40

kicking and screaming all over again.

16:42

For most people, piece is a

16:45

positive review from my supervisor. Sees

16:47

as a vacation the makes living

16:49

today bearable peace as a satisfying

16:51

work projects or the arrival of

16:53

the weekend. Or a new morning

16:56

routine piece is just one week

16:58

at some point in this academic

17:00

year when Pps hold school Monday

17:02

through Friday. right?

17:16

Here teacher in the room we respected to

17:18

do. Keep

17:21

fighting the good fight or

17:24

guys. When I'm trying

17:26

to sell you is that peace is

17:28

circumstantial. The.

17:31

Way most of us define and at least. And

17:34

that means we are kicking and

17:36

screaming every time and need disrupt

17:38

that circumstantial peace. But a wind

17:40

child by definition is a baby

17:43

who's grown accustomed to food other

17:45

than her mother's milk or when

17:47

child still gets hungry, but she

17:49

learns to trust her mother as

17:52

provider rather than demand that the

17:54

need be met immediately. And other

17:56

words, the when child learns to

17:58

find peace by. The mothers

18:01

presence. Not her

18:03

mother's milk. When

18:05

Jesus talked about the face of

18:07

a child, he was talking about

18:09

why it's trusts, not neurotic dependence.

18:12

A child is exemplary, not much

18:14

as they still kicking and screaming

18:16

to their parent every time they

18:18

have a nice. A child is

18:20

exemplary as an apprentice of Jesus.

18:22

not because of helplessness, but because

18:25

of a willingness to be led

18:27

and matured and blessed and his

18:29

Commentary on the Psalms. The German

18:31

theologian Archer Wiser, states, the follower

18:33

of Jesus is not. Like an

18:36

infant crying loudly for her month

18:38

for his mother's breast. For like

18:40

a Wiens child, the quietly rust

18:42

by his mother's side, happy and

18:44

being with her. No

18:46

desire know comes between him and has

18:48

gone for He has sure that God

18:50

knows what he needs before he asks

18:53

him and just as a child gradually

18:55

breaks off the habit of regarding his

18:57

mother only as a means of satisfy

18:59

his own desires and learn to love

19:01

her for her own sake. So the

19:04

worshiper, after a struggle has reached an

19:06

attitude of mind in which he desires

19:08

God for himself and not as a

19:10

means of fulfillment for his own wishes.

19:13

Is life center of Gravity Assist Did

19:15

he know be Now rests no longer

19:17

in himself but involves. Someone.

19:20

Thirty One offers us a

19:22

picture of the newborn believer

19:24

who has matured into a

19:26

wings child. A believer who

19:28

has learned to rely not

19:30

only on God's power, but

19:32

to delight in God's presence,

19:34

Knowing God as provider rather

19:36

than just demanding gods provision

19:38

a wind, chill out, a

19:40

beautiful image, and something to

19:42

aspire to. But.

19:45

Again, As any mother

19:47

will tell, You The process of

19:49

weaning an instant is painful.

19:52

For. Both the mother and the child. Because

19:55

a baby as wiens by

19:57

being denied what they want.

20:00

By the very person they are

20:02

supposed to learn to trust a

20:04

baby is when by kicking and

20:06

screaming and the mother looking right

20:08

in that child's face and not

20:11

giving them what they're kicking and

20:13

screaming over a baby has waned

20:15

when a mother satisfies a desire

20:17

at the proper time not the

20:19

incense timetable. and by what they

20:21

need solid food, not what they

20:23

think they want milk. What someone

20:26

thirty one seems to be telling

20:28

us is that growing up. In

20:30

the way of Jesus is

20:33

uncomfortable and will at times

20:35

feel like chaos God is

20:37

doing nothing about. And

20:40

that means that the way

20:43

The only way. That.

20:45

We can grow up in the

20:47

life of faith is by the

20:49

uncomfortable and parents is of wading.

20:53

There's the problem right there, young lady,

20:57

He. Bought into the cultural miss. When

20:59

you're waiting is doing nothing. When.

21:02

You're waiting you doing the

21:04

most important something there is.

21:07

Your. Allowing your soul to grow up. So.

21:10

My kid goes on to

21:12

define spiritual waiting as creating

21:14

a painfully honest and contemplative

21:16

relationship with one's own depths.

21:19

Trusting. God for the nourishment that

21:21

I can't produce myself. Waiting

21:24

as a courageous insistence on living

21:26

with my deep desire and thought,

21:28

neither held out before God for

21:30

a long time. a whole lot

21:32

longer than feels comfortable to me,

21:35

allowing him to wean my soul

21:37

from dependence on his provision to

21:39

the true rest of knowing him

21:41

as provider for Jesus. A Stranger

21:43

Stories is commonly called the parable

21:45

of the Ten Virgins. The Kingdom

21:47

of Heaven will be Like ten

21:49

virgins who took their lamps and

21:51

went out to meet the bridegroom.

21:53

Jesus began. And First century

21:55

Israel. this is the parser of and engage

21:57

bride to be awaiting her wedding day as

21:59

it. Near with a great

22:01

expectations that in Jesus story there's

22:03

ten brides and that's got nothing

22:05

to do with polygamy and everything

22:07

to do with an image for

22:09

the kingdom of heaven for heaven

22:11

and earth read united as one

22:13

for the renewal of all things

22:15

in the banishment of all that

22:17

pains you and eyes the same

22:19

picture this painted at the end

22:21

of the whole of the bible

22:23

and revelation mine seen but in

22:26

Jesus's story the groom texas a

22:28

very long time and arising and.

22:30

The night seems to last forever

22:32

and so all the oil lamps

22:34

burn out of five of the bride's

22:36

to be waiting or brought an

22:38

extra flask of oil and are able

22:40

to realize their last for five

22:42

didn't And so they leave to

22:44

go and purchase more oil for their

22:47

lands and while they're gone the

22:49

groom com and those who last miss

22:51

out on his arising snow. At

22:53

first glance it seems like Jesus is

22:55

telling a a story about preparation.

22:57

rights Be prepared or you might

22:59

miss. The King and his kingdom.

23:02

But I wonder. If

23:04

it's more or at least as much

23:06

as story about waiting. Because.

23:08

Those five who less they ejected

23:11

from the discomfort of waiting of

23:13

sitting and doing nothing but waiting

23:15

for like to break the long

23:17

Dark Knight the seem to never

23:19

go away. They became active again.

23:22

they got busy, they got productive.

23:25

And. They miss. Big.

23:27

Room. When. He broke

23:29

the night of there waiting. Waiting

23:34

is hard because it means moving a whole

23:36

lot slower than with like. Slower.

23:39

Than feels natural Tos waiting means

23:41

we're resisting the urge to get

23:44

ahead of Jesus on our own

23:46

spiritual journey. Get behind me, Satan.

23:50

I wonder if Jesus said it more

23:52

compassionately than he did sternly. I.

23:55

Wonder if he said that to Peter? Not

23:57

like a fire and brimstone preachers. I'm kinda

23:59

drills. The Origin, but more like a mother

24:01

weaning her child's. Looking.

24:04

Him right in the eye and denying

24:06

him what he wanted for the sake

24:08

of what he needed. Gently and lovingly

24:11

growing Peter off. Because.

24:13

Peter thinks that he wants a warrior

24:15

and a king, not a suffering savior.

24:17

And Peter thinks he's ready to day,

24:19

not on the other side of struggle

24:21

and denial. Is. A Jesus

24:24

had a better just for Peter than

24:26

he could ever imagine for cultivating a

24:28

nap Time for. The gift that Jesus

24:30

actually came to give was uncomfortable and

24:33

required the slow process of waiting. And

24:36

was the revelations the you will

24:38

have you read the scriptures Honestly

24:40

is this God is slow. And

24:44

the Hebrew Bible. Israel was served four hundred

24:47

years of slavery, forty years in the wilderness,

24:49

and seven years in exile for God's intervene.

24:52

But. Then Jesus shows up. I

24:55

mean sure asked. or another four hundred

24:57

your way between the profits in the

24:59

Messiah and another thirty years between Jesus

25:01

as arrival and hims doing anything public

25:03

fit look anything like the Savior of

25:05

the World. And then of course this

25:07

three days of waiting between his death

25:09

in his resurrection within the church was

25:11

born with the gift of the Holy

25:13

spirit. More yeah, but there was at

25:15

fifty day way to estimated fifty days

25:17

at least between all Jesus as promises

25:19

about the give to the spirits and

25:21

the actual gifted the spirit of the

25:23

Birth of the Church at Pentecost. A

25:25

slow god and awaiting people that's

25:27

it seems you cannot outrun and

25:29

the scripture Abraham and Sarah Weight

25:31

and a hundred years for a

25:34

child. Joseph. Waited two

25:36

years in prison as a and Jeremiah

25:38

died waiting on God to deliver Israel

25:40

from exile as they were promising he

25:42

would do Simeon. And awaited an entire

25:44

lifetime. It's a simple. To greet the

25:46

Messiah when he arrived, Scripture from

25:48

beginning to end says as he

25:51

got his promises are through and

25:53

trustworthy and slow. And

25:56

if I had to summarize my own prayer allies in

25:58

a single sentence, I doubt it. Do a

26:00

much more accurately than this. God

26:03

is slow and I am not.

26:08

I've had this one prayer that I've

26:10

been holding for God every single day

26:12

since my family returned from summer vacation

26:14

and July. And goes

26:16

something like this: God would you

26:18

please make me. A.

26:21

Man of a mellow spirit and a forgiving

26:23

heart. Gentle. As

26:25

a husband and patient as a father. And.

26:28

I started praying that because I noticed

26:30

as to characteristics in Jesus gentleness and

26:32

patience. And. I saw them

26:35

on that list of the Fruits of the Spirit. Bought.

26:38

Off season than me. I

26:41

mean I am like pretty self

26:43

control than a piece on. Quick

26:46

to confess I'm wide eyed and

26:48

save all of the pro active

26:50

expressions of the spirits are cultivated

26:52

and continuing to cultivate in my

26:54

inner life but gentleness and patients.

26:57

Those. Are reactive expressions of the

27:00

spirit not pro active? Their

27:03

measured, not in the way that I

27:05

plan and then it's insane is my

27:07

day, Their measured and the way I

27:09

react to the interruptions to the plan

27:11

that I've got for my day. So

27:14

how do you grow into some pieces?

27:16

How do you grow and something you

27:18

can't intentionally plan and practice? I.

27:22

Think. I.

27:24

Create a painfully honest and contemplative

27:26

relationship with my own deaths. In

27:29

other words, I observe and honestly name

27:31

the gap between who I am and

27:33

who own and become. And

27:36

then I trust God for the nourishment that I

27:38

cannot produce within myself. I asked him to do

27:40

with and me. When. I

27:42

don't seem to be able to do. And.

27:45

They're not. wait. Much.

27:47

Longer than I'd like to. And

27:50

uncomfortable in on time. And

27:53

then the six months I've been waiting have

27:56

seen God answer all sorts of other prayers

27:58

that afraid a whole lot less. The whole

28:00

lot more quickly. I.

28:03

Pray that we would have a formative

28:05

and joyful Holy Spirit Conference and will

28:07

just come off that Conference. And I

28:09

was walking the park across the street

28:11

in the dark in the early morning

28:14

praying this morning and the first prayer

28:16

on my lips was God. He did

28:18

it. And

28:20

if you can do that, Could.

28:23

You do the greater miracle. Could.

28:26

You change me. Could.

28:28

You for me into a man who

28:31

an accord description of his personality is

28:33

June Too impatient would you let me

28:35

know your presence and the way that

28:37

are reacts to all of life's interruptions,

28:39

not just the way that I plan

28:41

all his license and since. The

28:46

greatest miracle that I can imagine this

28:48

year. Is. Not revival

28:50

in Portland or some aspect of

28:53

exponential growth in our church shorts.

28:55

Or as far as friends coming

28:57

to say, the greatest miracle that

29:00

I can conceive of is that

29:02

I would arise and next July.

29:05

And. I was see. Probably.

29:07

Not in the moment that it's happening,

29:10

but somewhere in hindsight that of all

29:12

along the way, God was conspiring and

29:14

the circumstances of my life that I

29:16

didn't want and the waiting that lasted

29:18

a whole lot longer than I wanted

29:20

it to to answer that deepest prayer

29:22

that as was and me as I

29:24

held it before him. When

29:27

God shows us as faithfulness were given back

29:29

face. So. When I see Gods

29:31

faithfulness an answering smaller prayers like the one about

29:33

the Holy Spirit Conference I give him back faith

29:35

say got as you can do that I believe

29:37

that you can do this got of you can

29:39

do that and I believe the East and completes

29:41

the good work and me that you began. Is

29:44

he some miracles? God does really fast. He

29:47

opens the eyes of the blind, he stands

29:49

at the paralyzed, feeds the five thousand and

29:51

all happens in an instance. Another miracles God

29:53

does slowly like teach Peter to keep a

29:55

step behind him. That

29:57

miracle required a denial of first. The

30:00

action a chaos moment of shame

30:02

and then restoration. Sometimes.

30:05

We pray com holy spirit and we wait

30:07

a minute. Other times

30:09

would break com holy spirit and we wait

30:11

a year. Or. A

30:13

decade. Or allies time.

30:16

But. It is the same spirit that we prayed

30:18

to. And it is the

30:21

same spirit who does the work

30:23

God's greatest miracles require weaning. They

30:25

require the willingness to be denied

30:27

what we want instantly to learn,

30:29

said to find rest in the

30:32

presence of the giver, not in

30:34

the guests the he provides. The

30:36

French philosopher Simone Vase says, waiting

30:38

patiently and expectation is the foundation

30:40

of the spiritual life. Dot

30:43

is slow. Which. I

30:45

guess is why Charles birds and describe someone.

30:47

Thirty one item. All that one hundred and

30:50

fifty biblical psalms. The fastest to read and

30:52

the slowest to learn. God

30:56

is slow. And

30:59

gentle. And

31:01

that means that except in the very rare

31:03

circumstances you can caught off guard. Deepest and

31:05

most essential work was in you if you

31:07

want to. You.

31:09

Can. Get. Up from the

31:11

long night of waiting, you can inject

31:14

yourself. You can stop the work. You

31:16

can move faster than God. You can

31:18

collect a thousand instant stories of the

31:21

spirits presence and power, and miss out

31:23

on the slowest, deepest, most essential works

31:25

of the same spirit. We subvert the

31:27

slow work of God within us when

31:30

we restlessly squirm or passively settle. Some.

31:33

Of us are restless scorers for were

31:35

prone to subvert spiritual waiting with our

31:37

impatience and activity. We live by the

31:39

subtle and deceptive quality of self love

31:42

where we are forever read, planning and

31:44

reforming our own formation. We commit to

31:46

one way or rhythm of lies and

31:49

we live it. And so we become

31:51

excited about the next compelling idea and

31:53

and we switch up the plan. We

31:55

it's halfway through books and then jump

31:58

into the next book we made. Inbred

32:00

resolutions were always reinventing the way

32:02

that God really wants to work

32:04

within me and the spiritual season

32:06

I must really be in it's

32:08

a squirrel am distracted way of

32:10

living that over time spans my

32:12

in our lives and a patchwork

32:14

of confused desires when the truth

32:16

is that waiting for discomfort of

32:18

growing up in Price is holding

32:20

one deep desire before him for

32:22

a long period of time. a

32:24

whole lot longer than you'd like

32:26

to until he can we knew

32:28

and grow you up. By the process

32:30

of waiting but you never wanted to

32:33

submit to in the first place to

32:35

so to my fellow restless squirm result

32:37

their. Keep. Still,

32:40

Learn. To trust in the slow.

32:43

Long. Deep work of golf.

32:47

But. Others of us we passively

32:49

saddles spirits awaiting may look outwardly

32:51

passes but it is the furthest

32:53

thing from us. The English words

32:55

passive and pass and both come

32:57

from the Latin root word party

33:00

which means to endure solitude as

33:02

the spiritual practice that is equal

33:04

parts passive and passionate involves listening

33:06

to all the dysfunctional was that

33:09

we believed. looking deeply and all

33:11

the holes the have saw a

33:13

bit exist in my own soul,

33:15

uncovering the desires that. I deny

33:17

or have never even discovered? Is the

33:19

all the places that we live falsely

33:21

all the ways that we learn to

33:24

portray some foes sense of commitments. A

33:26

counterfeit version of peace that comes from

33:28

living out of touch with our deepest

33:30

desires to that we can feel okay

33:32

so long as we never look at

33:34

what we want. Most of for those

33:36

who are prone to settle for what

33:38

their life with God is however sort

33:41

of Jesus's promises that may be spiritual

33:43

waiting means remaining with Gone as he

33:45

restores that vision of who we. Really

33:47

deeply and truly are and

33:49

then allowing him to form

33:51

us into an overtime. But

33:55

the fruits. For. Those who

33:57

learn to wait on the Lord. Is.

34:00

Hop. Israel.

34:03

Put your hope in the lord. Both.

34:05

Now and forever more. Is

34:08

the we think it's piece that were asked her

34:10

because life is busy and are in their lives

34:12

are frenzied and waiting of uncomfortable So we want

34:14

peace to help sustain us through the waiting. but

34:17

God doesn't give us what we once. He

34:19

gives us what we need to grow up. And

34:22

that holds. Hope.

34:24

Is a powerful force in this world. Hope

34:28

allows a human being to

34:30

envision and long for and

34:32

then live in to a

34:35

better future than what seems

34:37

presently possible. Hope.

34:39

Is what fueled Martin Luther King's dream

34:41

in Birmingham jail cell and Nelson Mandela's

34:43

and the Cape Town Prison. Hope

34:45

is what allows young man to be the

34:48

first in his family to graduate from high

34:50

school and what drove his mother to work

34:52

her hands to the bone to make that

34:54

possible for hims and then clap those same

34:56

calloused hands of his graduation ceremony. Hope is

34:58

what your way put in Moses of the

35:00

Burning Bush and what he put in Isaiah

35:03

that allowed him to see beyond exile. Hope

35:05

is what existed and Mary that made her

35:07

worthy to be the Mother of Jesus. And

35:09

Hope is what got planted a new. The

35:11

second he said yes to Jesus is Lord.

35:13

Hope is not an extra dose of. Optimism

35:15

for those is laws are already

35:18

going generally according to plan. Hope

35:20

is a defiant resilient some times

35:22

given Austin and will the choice

35:24

to insist that I will see

35:26

the mass of my life today

35:28

not through my own eyes, went

35:30

through the eyes of Jesus and

35:33

his suffering, victory and is present.

35:35

promises. Hope is the realistic acknowledgement

35:37

of my sorrow, my pain and

35:39

my sufferings. and it is the

35:41

realistic discovery of seeing God standing

35:43

up in the midst of. My

35:45

sorrow and pain and suffering. Hope

35:48

is the east of the spiritual

35:50

ice. Kirsten.

35:54

Big Sourdough Bread. On

35:56

or know anything about the process except

35:59

for this. Didn't. You

36:01

worked east into the dell and

36:03

then watch it. No

36:05

matter how long you look at it, you'll never

36:07

see anything happen to it. But.

36:10

It's you words east into the dough and than

36:12

rest. Go. And get a good

36:14

night's sleep. You wake up the following morning

36:16

to see that little thing balloons into something

36:19

entirely different. Hope. Works

36:21

like that was in the Disciple

36:23

Jesus. It is use.

36:26

If we stare out at we won't

36:28

see anything happening immediately. but if we

36:30

rest with hopes. Then.

36:32

Slowly, gently and all

36:34

together transform the to

36:36

flee will be formed

36:38

into something entirely different

36:40

from within. And

36:42

then the world around those who hope it's

36:45

transformed in the same way not long after.

36:47

His he solitude outwardly charades as

36:50

the spiritual practice of retreating from

36:52

the world when solitude is actually

36:54

a spiritual practices is about becoming

36:57

a gift for the world's solitude.

36:59

As for the sake of others.

37:02

Thomas. Merton says we do not go into

37:04

the desert to escape people but to learn

37:06

how to find of. We.

37:09

Do not leave them in order to have nothing more

37:11

to do a sense but to find out the best

37:13

way to do them the most good. All

37:15

of the enemies most subtle but debilitating

37:17

or blows to our generation we live

37:20

in a generous and church history with

37:22

is this tiny bit very good revival

37:24

of spiritual practices ancient to our face

37:26

admin for gone by the generations before

37:28

us for one of the ways that

37:31

the enemy is twisting. ah that and

37:33

these forming its as he is causing

37:35

us to relate to spiritual practices like

37:37

their life hack or some ways it

37:40

is meant to of balance me out

37:42

when the truth is that all spiritual

37:44

practice has this. One com an end

37:46

to form you into a drink offering

37:48

that is poured out for the sake

37:51

of other. Solitude is not a way

37:53

to become more balanced. It's wouldn't be

37:55

crucified with price, but I might be

37:57

a. Gift to others in the world.

38:01

And Muslims of Calcutta where the order

38:03

known as the Sisters of Charity was

38:05

founded my Mother Teresa and where they

38:07

to this day sacrificial reserve among some

38:09

of the most poor and forgotten people's

38:12

in the whole of the globe. There

38:14

is a sign hanging above the door

38:16

that leads from my house were nuns

38:18

live and ordered lies that includes and

38:20

is grounded in solitude. A sign hangs

38:22

above the door from their house leading

38:25

into the slums and that sign reads

38:27

there are no great things today. Only

38:30

small things done with great love.

38:34

That. Sounds a lot like someone thirty one.

38:37

Miles. And not proud lord I don't

38:39

occupy myself of things to grade or to

38:41

marvelous and me like a when child and

38:43

concern. Israel, but

38:46

you're hoping the Lord both now

38:48

and forever more. If we do

38:50

not learn to wait like Jesus,

38:52

neither can we learn to love

38:55

our neighbor like Jesus. Weight.

38:57

On the Lord less him when

38:59

you grow you up and you

39:01

mature and to log into a

39:04

sacrificial self giving sort of love

39:06

that has no need for highlights,

39:08

accolades and admiration but spends self

39:10

freely on others. There's

39:13

a problem right there. He only. You.

39:17

Bought into the courtroom. This. That.

39:20

When you're waiting for doing nothing, When.

39:23

You're waiting. You're doing the

39:25

most important something there is.

39:28

Your. Allowing soul to grow up. The.

39:32

Paradox of Solitude is that we covered

39:34

the steepest call him in the spiritual

39:36

life by staying still. So.

39:39

Is there a practice from the way

39:41

of Jesus has been reliable, passed down

39:44

to church history that teaches us to

39:46

wait and an impatient time and to

39:48

live with a defining grit, defiant, gritty

39:51

sense of hope and our world today?

39:53

Yes, solitude is a spiritual practice of

39:55

waiting with hope. Now it's important that

39:57

we don't confuse are part and. It's

40:00

part of the spirit who transforms is

40:02

not the practice. The practice simply holds

40:04

us in the place that God can

40:06

heal as deepest Ah Hangs recently broke

40:08

his arm. And so they put

40:10

it in a cast. The. Prescription for

40:13

his healing was this just needs

40:15

to stay still for a long

40:18

period of time. And.

40:20

Solitude is that. It is a

40:22

cast that forces you to hold

40:25

still. Said. That God can

40:27

heal you in the deepest way And

40:29

solitude can be practice number of different

40:32

ways that comprises solitude annually, quarterly or

40:34

monthly through retreat. For instance, three times

40:36

a year I do a thirty six

40:38

hours sign retreats an extended period of

40:41

solitude or it can be practice weekly

40:43

through clients. For me, on Friday mornings

40:45

are gone, Iran, I don't have any

40:48

noise in my head and the prayers

40:50

are prey on my front porch on

40:52

drinking coffee. After that, Ron are typically

40:54

the most honest and vulnerable. Of

40:56

my weeks But the place to

40:59

start with solitude is definitely be

41:01

daily practice of silent prayer which

41:03

is also referred to as contemplative

41:05

prayer or be holding prayer and

41:07

different traditions for whatever you call

41:09

is exactly what it sounds like.

41:11

a ton of prayer with no

41:13

or very few words. The.

41:15

Psychologist and historical theologian taught

41:17

whole define solitude. This was

41:19

a type of prayer focus

41:21

on one's direct experience of

41:23

God and Jesus through the

41:25

Holy spirit and has to

41:28

do was giving ones full

41:30

undivided attention to relating to

41:32

God and a passive, non

41:34

defensive, non demanding, open well.

41:37

I like this definition because it uncovers

41:39

the truth that some people we think

41:41

that silent prayer is the type of

41:43

frame or doing nothing and it's not

41:46

that. There's no such

41:48

thing as prayer where you're

41:50

doing nothing. and there's nothing

41:52

particularly redemptive about silence silences

41:54

the harshest punishment and us

41:56

prison system solitary confinement. For.

41:58

Nothing redemptive about. In

42:00

another cells Silent Prayer is

42:02

aware of prayer will read

42:04

intentionally quiet and still so

42:06

that we can direct all

42:08

of our deepest attention toward

42:10

God. We're doing something very

42:12

active and very intentional through

42:14

our stillness and silent Prayer.

42:16

Out of all of the

42:18

difference our practices that will

42:21

cover in this teaching series

42:23

is the ones that is

42:25

most Ah people feel most

42:27

suspicious of and then as

42:29

despite the fact. That it

42:31

is founded on the pages of

42:33

scripture and there's reliably sounds around

42:35

church history. So if suspicion of

42:38

the contemplative taxes the way of

42:40

Jesus Ah is viewed as some

42:43

as some mud on tethered form

42:45

of mysticism or some slippery slope

42:47

and secular mindfulness rather than an

42:50

active spiritual practice. Where did that

42:52

idea come from? was still a

42:55

study of global church history has

42:57

found that many practices of solitude.

43:00

Are all of which mean more

43:02

contemplative and experience with them. They

43:04

do cognitive or both taught and

43:07

practice from the earliest as in

43:09

church history all the way up

43:11

to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

43:14

enlightenment when praxis solitude declined as

43:16

the mods, trust and scientific objectivism

43:19

and intellectual capacity for whole life

43:21

transformation increased, Suspicion toward contemplation is

43:23

rooted not in the way of

43:26

Jesus round the pages of the

43:28

bible. Instead, it is rooted. In

43:30

the Churches over reaction to respond

43:33

to the questions of the enlightenment

43:35

was wrongly assumed that changing someone's

43:37

mind was sufficient said their entire

43:39

lives. Instead, the practice of solitude

43:42

they're silent prayer is found on

43:44

the pages of scripture and in

43:46

the life of Jesus was codify

43:48

by the Desert Fathers and Mothers

43:50

in the third century who prayed

43:53

to forms of prayer every day

43:55

Soul Muddy which is vocal prayer

43:57

inspired by the songs and other.

44:00

The Do: a scripture guiding a

44:02

community into spoken conversation with gone

44:04

from the pages of scripture and

44:06

contemplation which they referred to as

44:08

choir switches translate as rest or

44:11

the great has to kiosks translated

44:13

as sweet propose This form of

44:15

prayer is also found on the

44:17

pages of scripture to the repetition

44:19

of a Simple Breast prayer which

44:22

is a phrase from scripture that

44:24

I can pray in a single

44:26

breath and inhale and exhale. That

44:28

anchors my mind. Back towards

44:30

meant to be held the most

44:33

famous of which is Lord Have

44:35

Mercy Taken from the lips of

44:37

the Blind Men Bournemouth on the

44:39

pages of the Gospels And of

44:42

course prayer involves both conversation and

44:44

silence because prior his relationships. Prayers.

44:47

The relational center of the

44:49

spiritual life and relationships often

44:51

begin conversationalist. right? If

44:53

you go on a first date

44:55

or gets know a new friends,

44:57

you're going to feel the need

45:00

to fill every empty space with

45:02

conversation. And that's because of some

45:04

mix of nervous excitement and just

45:06

full blown awkwardness that you feel

45:08

on silence. And as that relationship

45:10

matures, both of those forces that

45:12

demand conversation lessen, the nervous excitement

45:15

decreases, but so does the social

45:17

awkwardness you beyond that person's presence.

45:19

Who is the person you are least likely to

45:21

feel nervous in front of in this world? Probably.

45:25

Your spouse or your best friends. And.

45:28

Who is the person you spend the most time

45:30

with silently in this world? It's.

45:33

Likely the same person. So.

45:35

Else can talk about the spiritual life

45:37

as a journey. The spiritual journey. And

45:40

that means that prayer is like road

45:42

trip conversation. It involves

45:44

last year and talking about simple

45:46

topics were awesome, both deeply listening

45:48

and and deeply sharing. In a

45:50

concession away ended about long stretches

45:52

of silence for the miles. just

45:54

tick bites, but I still perfectly

45:56

at ease in the presence of

45:58

someone else without making. Noise. Silent.

46:02

Prayer has this one single aim to

46:04

become fully present to God. Human

46:07

beings have the capacity and

46:09

the danger of living somewhere

46:11

other than the present. And

46:14

most of us tend to live in either

46:16

the past or the future. Being present is

46:18

a skill. In as

46:20

a muscle that we strengthen and

46:22

silent prayer is the way that

46:24

we strengthen that muscle and as

46:26

we practice the presence of the

46:28

God who is Love, we grow

46:30

in our capacity be present to

46:33

other people that we companion throughout

46:35

the day with the same love.

46:37

All right. How do we

46:39

do it? Silent Prayer

46:41

is all about directing are days

46:43

to God. Be holding

46:46

him, Be holding me and

46:48

love. Here's.

46:50

I do it. Every morning

46:52

I'm like a cup of coffee in a

46:54

sit on my porch light. The candle that

46:57

sits next to my favorite chair that represents

46:59

for me the presence of God who is

47:01

always present to me and I set a

47:03

timer on my phone. Ten minutes is my

47:05

sweet spot. the start Wherever you are there's

47:07

nothing magic about a certain amount of time

47:09

and then I open my hands on my

47:12

lap and front of me and I pray

47:14

com Holy Spirit. And then I

47:16

wait. And

47:18

my brain is kind of like a snow

47:21

globe. it's all shaken up to. The first

47:23

thing that happens is everything that I've forgotten

47:25

to do up to that point comes to

47:27

mind. I gotta get this is a grocery

47:30

store going to remind Christian about that? Any

47:32

to email this person. I never texted her

47:34

back things like that and so I've prayed

47:36

as breath prayer was for me as his.

47:40

Holy. Spirit. And

47:43

as it's an anchor it's just a way

47:45

of pulling my brain back to where I

47:47

intended for it to be. and then it

47:50

usually takes a few minutes like a snow

47:52

globe He shook up and said on table

47:54

for all of my over busy imagination to

47:56

settle down. And.

47:58

Then I'm quiet. And.

48:01

Then the quiet. I

48:03

wait. On. The God who is

48:05

growing me up. And. The

48:07

discomfort of waiting. My.

48:11

Close friend Gemma who a full

48:13

time working mother of four including

48:15

two year old twins. She's taught

48:17

me so much about silent prayer

48:19

and the morning before children way.

48:21

She spends a little bit of

48:23

time with the Lord alone and

48:25

prayer she still herself in the

48:28

presence of gone she praised as

48:30

breath Prayer in New. I

48:32

less. And.

48:35

Then as she makes her way throughout the

48:37

day as she is buzzing to work and

48:39

in between meetings, as she's waiting in line

48:41

to pick up her lines and then rushing

48:43

back to school to pick up her kids

48:45

and she's making her family dinner soft and

48:47

returned to that breath, prayer and shoprite one

48:49

of three ways in you on this. Or.

48:52

In you. Arrest.

48:55

Or. A new. A

48:57

delight. Depending. On which

49:00

of those feels most honest for

49:02

her based on circumstances at the

49:04

moment and you see in this

49:06

way we have a disciplined time

49:08

of silent prayer with the Lord.

49:10

something amazing weekends to happen. We

49:13

began to discover God's presence woven

49:15

all throughout our days and have

49:17

this way of returning to him

49:19

and the chaos and busy ness

49:21

of our everyday lives. As

49:25

we practice solitude over the long

49:27

haul, we grow up from a

49:29

squealing and sent in the arms

49:31

of God to a weaned child

49:33

a quiet in her life I

49:36

bullies is the canvas on which

49:38

God painters masterpieces. There's.

49:41

The problem right there, Young lady. You

49:45

bought into the cultural miss it when you're

49:47

waiting doing nothing. When.

49:49

You're waiting. You're doing the most

49:51

important something there is. Your.

49:54

Allowing yourself to drop. Apart.

49:58

From waiting you cannot. Com

50:00

who God created you to

50:03

be. Glancing

50:09

try the city really laid out

50:11

a me. The paradox of solitude

50:13

is that we cover the steepest

50:16

climb in the spiritual life by

50:18

staying still. Prefer

50:20

hand and yet so counter intuitive with

50:23

so used to at least I am

50:25

in our culture hustling for what we

50:27

value most. But the deepest things Pilot

50:29

tells us come from waiting and just

50:32

like the fitness needed for a climb,

50:34

it gains momentum the more you do

50:36

it. It's not so much an initial

50:38

days and weeks that we begin since

50:41

decline but in the months and years

50:43

that followed. So

50:45

I thought it would be good today

50:48

just in light of that to take

50:50

a few moments and ask the holy

50:52

spirit to speak to us to guide

50:54

us on how we can begin or

50:56

even deepen our solitude practices in the

50:59

season of life for currently in so

51:01

we'll just take one or two minutes

51:03

and I'll promptly with three questions to

51:05

pray three leaving a little silence after

51:07

h and then I'll close with and

51:10

in. So

51:12

if you like and if you

51:14

can close your eyes, take a

51:16

few deep breaths with me. And

51:19

become aware of God's presence. Holy

51:29

Spirit. What's holding

51:31

me back from experiencing stillness?

51:34

And you. Father

52:06

show me how I can

52:08

give those things over to

52:10

you. Can

52:42

finally. What does

52:44

it look like for me to

52:46

build spaces of solitude and my

52:48

life to further deepen that stillness

52:50

in this prison season? I

53:23

mean. That

53:36

podcast is from practicing the way

53:38

We develop resources to help churches

53:40

and small groups apprentice in the

53:42

way of Jesus and all we

53:44

make is completely free because it's

53:46

already being paid for by the

53:48

Circle a community of monthly. Give

53:50

it to partner with us to

53:52

see spurts formation integrated into the

53:54

church. had lots. Special

53:56

thanks for today's episode Goes to

53:58

Mckinsey from Charlotte. North Carolina guy

54:01

from Tulsa, Oklahoma, loot from Redding,

54:03

California is messy from She Oregon

54:06

and Gina from Asheville North Carolina.

54:08

Thank you all very much to

54:10

join the circle or to learn

54:13

more about running a practice in

54:15

your church community. Was it practicing

54:17

the way.org. Until

54:20

the in May the Grace of the

54:22

Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of

54:24

God and the Fellowship of the Holy

54:26

Spirit be with you.