Paul Miller in his excellent book “A Praying Life” describes what he calls breath prayers. These are prayers that we pray continually by habit (even subconsciously) throughout the day.
One of his favorite breath prayers is incredibly simple, but at the same time powerful….
“Lord quiet my heart!”
Life unfortunately is incredibly busy, and anything but quiet. Things such as daily to-do lists, crisis situations, and unforeseen circumstances keep us running from one task to the next every day. This means our minds (and hearts) are often too busy as well focusing on the tasks left undone, or future challenges. Even times meant for reflection like Christmas can be exhausting as we try to get everything done.
Because life’s busyness affects us this way, we must aggressively pursue moments that quiet our busy heart.
I was thinking about this after finishing our Christmas service last Sunday night. It was a wonderful time together but also had A LOT to get done, so I was very busy during the days leading up to it. A Church member as we locked up asked if I would take a picture of the Christmas lights we had up and send it to her. The pic actually turned out pretty good!
That picture is symbolic for me because in that moment I was able to slow down, and quiet my heart. With the Lords help distractions and worries were removed so I could focus only the true meaning of Christmas….the coming of Christ,
This week I have sought to create more quiet heart moments that center not on working but slowing down and allowing God to speak.
And I have found those moments are precious
During a holiday season when so many are stressed by busyness and distractions, may the Lord help us display hearts that are quieted by His peace.
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