Knowing God - Matthew 14:23

(from Pastor)

He went up into a mountain apart to pray

Matthew 14:23

　

When I read today's verse, I immediately thought of a conversation I had recently with a friend. This friend has been working with a mentor on the gift of quietness.

　

The discipline is: Turn off the TV. Don't plug in the ipod. Silence the car radio. And practice solitude.

　

"It's amazing," the friend essentially said, "how much you can hear when there's no noise."

　

It's amazing, indeed. But it shouldn't be. Jesus practiced solitude. In key moments he found a place "apart" and in his prayers, the only sound was the still small voice of God.

　

In Christ's Love,

a noisy guy who needs to learn to say "shhhh!"

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It is so hard to be quiet. Try it for 2 days - I dare ya!  No TV, no radio, no 'background noise' - and then try not to let your mind wander too much. 


Pay attention to what you see, smell, hear, even feel.  Some call it 'being mindful' or being fully in the moment and aware of what is around you.  I was recently doing this near Seattle and saw the amazing beauty of a sea lion swimming in the Puget Sound.  God is everywhere, yet in our busyness, we don't see or hear him like we should. This is sounds simple, yet it is incredibly hard!!