When I first began my career in coaching and training, I found it very hard to just sit in silence.
The silence of waiting for someone to give a thought, answer a question, or be a volunteer for something…I had a need to fill the silence.
Do you ever feel that way when you pray?
My prayer often looks something like this…I pray for what I want. I thank. I want. I thank. I talk. I listen. And then I talk some more. I find myself so drawn to stay in conversation with Him, and at the same time I am tired of saying what I already know He heard, and what I already know He has taken care of….I just don’t know the outcome yet.
As a natural introvert, I get anxious going to events where I don’t know people. I stress over what to talk with people about. How to begin a conversation, other than talking about the weather, and yet not offending them by asking a question they deem as personal.
How to keep a conversation going in order to avoid that awkward silence and stand there with nothing to say.
Can you relate? I am in awe of individuals who can immediately feel comfortable at those events and know just what to say.
Communication is a two way street. It’s not all up to me to keep the conversation going. It is a joint effort and a combination of both talking and listening. Listening for those clues in the conversation that will spark other topics of conversation.
I think prayer needs to be the same way. Not just one sided talking about what I want, need, and desire. It’s also about listening.
Just being quiet in the silence to hear what is being said. We need to just Be.
When I sit in the quiet, silencing my mind, I realize I am being drawn, not to keep talking to Him, but to “be” with Him. To just rest in His presence and know I am ok.
He asks us to “be still and know that He is God.” We don’t have to work to fill the silence.
If 2020 has taught me nothing else, it taught me that sometimes prayer has nothing to do with speaking or listening. It’s trusting Him enough to simply rest in His presence. To simply be…
In the silence.
With love and joy, Laura Pedersen
Comments