A Place to Pray

Photo by Kyle Johnson on Unsplash

When He had sent them away, He departed to a mountain to pray. Mark 6:46 9 (MEV)

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 (MEV)

Away, away, to find a place to pray. Away from the needful, the devoted, the crowds. Up into the mountains, the solitude, the silence. "Be still, and know that I am God" said the Psalmist, and that vacancy, when filled with the presence of the divine and the wonder of creation, would become an exaltation. 

My own efforts to find the stillness, though rewarded when successful, are always difficult to achieve. I find that even if I manage to tune out the usual distractions, or actually get away to the mountainside, I have carried a burden of internal clutter, mental noise, vagrant memory, anxious anticipation- all of which must be "sent away" before I can be "still." I've found that in moments of wonder the stillness comes more readily- the exaltation of a brilliant night sky, the infinite beauty of waves on the shore, and the stunning expanse of the mountainside all leave me feeling the connection, grateful for the Grace, and ready to listen, but how do I find this place to pray everywhere and always?  God is already there.

Dear God, please help me find you in all the places, in all the goodness, all the time.  Amen

John Northrip