Reflection: Persistent Prayer - away from the chaos

By Paul Wetzig

We are at a point in time where we are surrounded by a cacophony of strident voices clamouring to be heard.

Constant, incessant noise demands our attention, and our response.

War,
Rumour of war,
Disasters,
Suffering,
Crises,
Hot button issues on the outside.
Struggle,
Stress,
Fear,
Anxiety on the inside.

All this noise can lead us to fatigue, disengagement and despair, and a desire to run away and try to just block it all out.

In the midst of all this noise is an invitation from God - to practice the way of Jesus.

To make time to pray. To create consistent, regular space to centre our hearts and minds not on ourselves and our inability to impact all that swirls around us, but on God - the creative presence who longs for, and is actively working for, restoration, reconciliation and the redemption of all things.

To listen to another voice, a voice that calms storms, brings healing, wholeness and forgiveness.

A voice that draws out of us the goodness inherent in our creation.

Throughout the Gospels we see this pattern in the life of Jesus as he's known by both his disciples, and the crowds, to escape to quiet places to pray.

In the midst of the clamour for his attention and the constant scrutiny of his words and actions, Jesus stepped away to hear the voice of the one who, from before he had said or done anything of note, had told him - he was loved.

To be with the one whose heart he was making real in the world, through embodying God's intended way for life.

So as Jesus made this time for prayer, when his friends asked him how they should pray, he invited them into this same connection with God.

Inviting them into a conversation that grounded them in embodying the radical new community that would make real God's redemption of all things marked by acknowledgement of God's greatness and mystery. He encouraged them to recognise their dependence on God, the power of forgiveness and to trust in God's presence in adversity.

For Jesus, and his followers, in the midst of all the noise and chaos of their world, this regular and persistent practice was what would sustain them as they did the work of loving and living a new way in the world. A way that embodied good news to their hurting and broken world.

As we now continue that same work in this work, in this place, at this time, may our lives be grounded in this same practice.

May we be individuals and communities of faith who place a priority on creating time and space to listen to the voice of love and hope to guide and direct us in the midst of all the other noise that surrounds.