Prayer has been
a focus for me lately. Perhaps that sounds odd to you coming from a pastor, you
might think we pray all the time…for hours on end. And though we are all called
to “pray continuously”, the reality is that sometimes my prayer life is more
God-focused than it is at other times. Of course, I pray every day, but the act
of truly being in communion with God during this focused and uninterrupted
private time has been a priority for me. I realize now how far I was from this
ten years ago, and perhaps ten years from today I will look back and realize
how far I am from it now. That is part of the beauty of growth in our Christian
life, and the never-ending aspect of relationship with our God.
As
I am writing this I am sitting on the balcony of our condo at the beach. This
is my family’s annual vacation week to Oak Island, NC. The beach is one of my
favorite places. People keep telling me that if I lived here I would miss the
mountains and want to be back in East Tennessee…maybe, but I’d be willing to
give it a shot. The beach is also one of my favorite places to pray, well,
actually, in the ocean is one of my favorite places to pray. Because sometimes
praying in the ocean is hard.
I like praying in the ocean
because of the sound. I am an easily distracted person. It took me 15 minutes
to write the paragraph above because I was watching a seagull. My wife likes to
say that she doesn’t have ducks and they’re not in a row because she has
squirrels and they’re at a rave….that’s another whole story though, and I think
I once again have been distracted.
Back to the
ocean. The sound of the ocean helps drown out the other sounds that constantly
seek my attention. I need this when I pray. I need the other sounds quieted so
that I can focus on and be with my Lord. The ocean is my prayer closet.
There
is also a rhythmic sound to the ocean. It is soothing to me, and there is a
beautiful repetition that helps me focus on the eternal and unchanging
qualities of the One I am spending this time with. This is soothing to me. There
needs to be a rhythm to our lives, not a monotony, but a sacred rhythm of who
we are and how this life all makes sense. There will be plenty of things that
happen that seek to upset this rhythm; death, unemployment, natural disaster,
terrorism, illness, disease, injustice. So a sacred rhythm to life is
important. If you don’t have this rhythm yet, talk to someone you know who
does. It will make all the difference when interruptions come. The rhythm of
the sound of the ocean reminds me that there is a rhythm to my life, even if it
may seem chaotic at the time.
I
also like praying in the ocean because of the water. This may seem rather
obvious, but the water splashing over me is a prayerful reminder of God’s
grace. As I begin my prayers I first ask God to forgive my sins, both known and
unknown. I think this is important for me to take care of the elephant in my
spiritual room so that my Lord and I can get on to our time together. But the
importance of this is paramount to me. Sin is what stands in between me and
God, and I know that when I ask for forgiveness that He is faithful and just to
forgive me because Jesus has already paid the price for my sins, both those I
have committed in the past, and those that will be committed in my future, both
those sins of commission and those sins of omission, all my sins of thought,
word, and deed. So during this time I let the waves just wash over me.
Cleansing me. And I praise God for this.
But
sometimes praying in the ocean is hard. Yesterday I went down to the beach
about 5:00. It was high tide, so there were not many people on the beach, since
there wasn’t much beach to sit on at that time of the day. The ocean waves had
made their way as close as they were allowed, sneaking up to the edge of the
dunes for the second time of the day. They weren’t going to come any further
than that today, their journey onto the
beach had been limited by their Maker. And so I waded into the waters, and
there began my prayer. During high tide the waves are a little rougher, they
crash a little harder, they move you around a little more, and it’s harder to
keep your balance and stay in the same spot. This is a good reminder for me of
all the things distracting me, and my need to stay focused and stand firm in my
prayer, in my faith, and in my life.
Today
be strong in your prayer. Hold on. Stand firm. And if you are getting knocked
around a little by the rough waves today, just remember that high tides don’t
last forever.
