You know the silent prayer we spoke about in this post? Maintaining the silent prayer (which, if you stop to think about it, is nothing more than maintaining an awareness of GOD's presence) is vital to showing GOD to the world. Here's an example.
Let's say you were babysitting a young child; maybe 2 or 3 years old. And let's go ahead and say this child begins to run around in circles. If you know anything about children, you know a child sprinting in circles is going to end up in some sort of accident; they may fall down or bump their head -- you know something is going to happen. So what do you do?
One response is to speak sharply, telling the child to stop running around. If they don't listen, speak sharper still. You may have to yell to finally get their attention and have them actually stop, but in the end, your goal is accomplished: the child stops a potentially harmful activity (running around, in case you've forgotten).
Another response is to take a breath and pause. As you breathe, connect with GOD. Ask Him to allow His Spirit to flow through you -- don't just ask Him to fill you with His spirit, ask that He may allow His spirit to show to outside observers. Ask to become like a light bulb: His spirit is like electricity, allowing the bulb to light up ... the light is the actions that the rest of the world sees. Maintain this state of silent prayer, being content to simply rest in His presence. What effect may GOD's spirit have on this situation?
Multiple. One way His spirit may manifest itself is by you gently and calmly telling the child -- as many times as it takes -- to please stop running. In the same tone. Every time. Until the child stops. No sharp tones. No "stern mother voice." No glowering. No threatening postures or gestures. This could take a while, as young children aren't very likely to listen the first time. Or the second. Or the tenth.
But this exercise will strengthen your faith, and over time, it will be easier to allow GOD to channel Himself through you -- and this channeling of GOD through you is vital to showing GOD to the world.
Let's say you were babysitting a young child; maybe 2 or 3 years old. And let's go ahead and say this child begins to run around in circles. If you know anything about children, you know a child sprinting in circles is going to end up in some sort of accident; they may fall down or bump their head -- you know something is going to happen. So what do you do?
One response is to speak sharply, telling the child to stop running around. If they don't listen, speak sharper still. You may have to yell to finally get their attention and have them actually stop, but in the end, your goal is accomplished: the child stops a potentially harmful activity (running around, in case you've forgotten).
Another response is to take a breath and pause. As you breathe, connect with GOD. Ask Him to allow His Spirit to flow through you -- don't just ask Him to fill you with His spirit, ask that He may allow His spirit to show to outside observers. Ask to become like a light bulb: His spirit is like electricity, allowing the bulb to light up ... the light is the actions that the rest of the world sees. Maintain this state of silent prayer, being content to simply rest in His presence. What effect may GOD's spirit have on this situation?
Multiple. One way His spirit may manifest itself is by you gently and calmly telling the child -- as many times as it takes -- to please stop running. In the same tone. Every time. Until the child stops. No sharp tones. No "stern mother voice." No glowering. No threatening postures or gestures. This could take a while, as young children aren't very likely to listen the first time. Or the second. Or the tenth.
But this exercise will strengthen your faith, and over time, it will be easier to allow GOD to channel Himself through you -- and this channeling of GOD through you is vital to showing GOD to the world.
Comments
Post a Comment