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Tuesday, February 01, 2005
I used to live in a fraternity house that housed something like 65 guys. We ate every meal together. We had community showers and bathrooms. We worked around the house together cleaning and fixing and such. We had parties together. We really did laugh and live life together for the time we were in college.
What didn't happen much at the fraternity house was studying. It was just too loud. We did have "quiet hours" in the evening and everyone pretty much obeyed them, but when you live life together there really was too much accidental noise. You know, somebody would drop their shaving kit on the way to the showers. Maybe someone would have their television on (at a reasonable level) in the dorm room next to yours. Somebody's phone might ring. A couple of guys might be in one room watching a movie and laughing. They might even yell down the hall to tell their friend they were waiting on him.
You learned pretty quickly that if studying was going to get done, the really serious stuff was going to have to be done at the library or some other environment that was much more quiet.
And if you think school work was hard to do, try developing any semblance of a prayer life with God in that type of living situation. It simply never was really quiet. Maybe at bed time you could get some quiet, but that usually wound up in you falling asleep before you were praying seriously.
The guys I was involved with in Bible study at that time were also going through a similar situations with their dorms or apartments or fraternity houses, until one day a guy came in and told us he found this old cemetary not far from campus that you could wind up in a seriously quiet setting and get some quality prayer time in.
He was right! We found out pretty quickly that if you're in a graveyard with a Bible and remotely appearing reverential, no one will bother you. Over the course of time, the entire Bible study wound up going there. It was a nice, well-kept cemetary, that was quiet and peaceful. We'd see each other from time to time (once, when I walked into the entrance, I saw my friend John laying on a headstone getting a tan--I didn't say we knew a lot about respect for families at that time...only that we found a quiet place where no one would bother us), but we understood why the other guy was there.
To get away from the phone.
To get away from the noise.
To get away from the television.
To get away from the friends.
To get away from the distractions...whatever they were.
Then we could talk to God and focus on Him for a while.
And we were being scriptural in our approach, even if we didn't know it at the time. Here's Matthew 6: 6, from The Message: "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace."
The New American Standard says to "go into your inner room." The word usually refers to your bedroom, which is a private place (especially in that culture). Go to a place you can be alone.
This is in direct contrast to the hypocrites we saw yesterday...they were in the streets trying to be seen by men. They were getting their reward in full.
And the idea of prayer is simply talking to God. This is supposed to be an intimate and authentic relationship with the King of King and Lord of Lords, of which we will just be in the infancy of our reward as we get to know Him at deeper levels.
Wouldn't it seem worthwhile to find a quiet and secluded place in order to do that? It always helps to eliminate distractions and in our culture, going at warp speed, well, it can be difficult to slow down, get quiet and talk to God.
Sometimes, it may mean turning off the television for a while before everyone else gets home (or wakes up!). It might mean turning off the computer for a few minutes (I won't be offended if you did that right now). It might mean turning off all your phones. It might mean taking a walk to the park, even if it's cold out or raining (they make coats and umbrellas these days). It might mean turning off the car radio or CD player and praying then (of course, you'll want to keep your eyes open). It might mean getting to the office before everyone else. It might mean that you'll get to school a few minutes earlier, parking further away and staying in your car to talk with Him. It might mean finding a well-kept, secluded cemetery just off campus and grab a few minutes here and there.
Sure, you can pray anytime, anywhere...and it's never a bad time or place to pray. But I'm a firm believer in that place of solitude and talking with God as often as you can grab it.
So today, try to think through where you can do that...and when. And the sooner the better, right. Like the quoted verse above says, the sooner we stop role-playing before Him, we'll focus more on God, and experience His grace. And, if that's the goal, the way I see it, the sooner the better, right?
What's stopping you?
Brent 4:16 AM
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