In the past 18 months, I’ve felt a growing need for more quiet and space in my day. Maybe I’m just overwhelmed, or maybe Jesus knows what I need. I’ve shifted from structured Bible study to a quieter, more open approach. I’m taking the pressure off of myself to exegete or study. That’s meant letting go of the boxes I normally check.
shifting from structure
Recently, I’ve added a “Jesus candle,” breath prayers, and deep breathing. If I had to define “practicing the presence of God” (also an excellent little book👇🏼), a morning like this is the proverbial picture that I imagine next to the definition.
Looking back, I realize my mother-in-law’s advice to “Breathe, Moni” wasn’t irritating—it was an invitation. It might sound odd, but this practice has changed me. I breathe deeply and often, sometimes just sitting in the quiet. I’m slower now and it carries into the rest of my day—eating, praying, walking. This new space for breathing and listening gives the Holy Spirit room to guide me before I act.
“He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”
-Brother Lawrence (emphasis mine)