In this part of the world, we are plunging into the heat and humidity of summer. We carefully schedule our outdoor activity for cooler and shadier times of the day. A quiet breeze refreshes us, staying hydrated is essential, and visiting the shore restores us.
Needing To Rest
When our children were little, we carefully monitored their time outside during hot, humid days. We were attentive to heat symptoms and the need to hydrate. We could tell when they needed to rest in the shade, even when they thought they could keep playing. We knew when it was time to come inside.
We recognized the value of stopping, sitting, and resting. Pacing ourselves requires prudence that we learn from our experience, the example of others, and the wisdom of those who have loved us through the years.
Stopping to rest not only restores our energy, but also helps us realize where we are, what we have already accomplished, and what remains for us to do. Whether work or play, we need the perspective that resting time provides. It provides open time to value what we’re doing and continue with a plan for where we are going.
Prayer At Rest
Maybe sometimes we think of prayer as an activity we need to get done. We try hard to schedule our prayer and to maintain its quantity and quality. When our children were young, we probably advised them to “say your prayers.” This is a good beginning.
Saying our prayers prepares us to live our prayers.
Prayer As Presence
If we think of prayer as listening and resting in the presence of a relationship, then prayer naturally springs from within us. We are with someone who loves us – more than we could ever fully know.
“This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” (Matthew 6:9).
The Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father.” We let ourselves rest with the idea that our common Father establishes a relationship with each of us – and between all of us.
“…the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)
Let us embrace the rest that the Lord provides as we pray as a family.