“Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law...the Lord has become my fortress and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.” - Psalm 94
Reflection by Maria Ciarochi
The Psalmist states that BLESSED is the person taught by the Lord. What a challenge to take time and LISTEN to what our God has to say! I know I struggle to get to that place in my personal prayer life. I seem to have no problem asking God for help, or giving God advice (you know when my prayer requests have my answers attached to them). There are even wonderful prayer times filled with worship, adoration and gratitude, but it is still me speaking. Silence, filled only with LISTENING, now there is the challenge!
In a world where self-help books, TV interviews, and computer blogs give the impression that it is so easy to attain wisdom within a few minutes, the temptation is there to avoid setting aside more than a short time each day to read and meditate on Scripture, and to avoid sitting quietly in God’s presence.
The Psalmist seems to know some helpful ways of getting to that listening place.
I will begin by asking the Lord to become my fortress, buffeting the thoughts, such as fear, anxiety, impatience, frustration, and daily schedule, which would distract me from listening. He also imagines God as the rock of his refuge, to give him comfort. My image of comfort is Jesus sitting in a rocking chair holding me on his lap at times of crisis in my life. Some times I get to rest my head on His chest listening to His heart beat, and that is all I need to achieve peace and attain the strength to survive the crisis.
This Lent I hope to climb on His lap and ask Him to teach me how to follow Him. Maybe we will read the Bible together and maybe some of the time I will just LISTEN. I hope you find the time to LISTEN too!
