The Rev. Aimee Eyer-Delevett
Recently, our lectionary assigned gospel readings have invited us to focus our energies on
praying to God. Amid the noisy and often troubling news of our world, we who follow Christ are
invited to quiet ourselves and spend time in prayer and the presence of the Divine.
There are times when we need to stop: sit and meditate; read scripture; pray; take a silent,
contemplative walk. These provide an opportunity to switch our minds and our lives away from day-
to-day work. God has difficulty entering a mind that is caught up in the business of the day. Taking
a break opens us up to the presence of God and a chance for learning and growth.
In her book That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist, Jewish/Buddhist author Sylvia
Boorstein talks about how, when life gets overwhelming and she takes on too many things, she
needs to increase her time in prayer and meditation. That can seem incongruous to many – often
when life seems to overtake us, prayer is one of the first things to go. But Boorstein emphasizes the
importance of prayer to strengthen not only the mind, but also the whole being. Without that, she
queries, what use are we to God or to humanity?
We are all called to listen to Jesus. We can even find that, as we listen, we are freed up to do
more and reengage the world renewed.
So take some time to read and meditate on scripture; open a Book of Common Prayer to
page 80 and pray morning or evening prayer, or compline (or use your phone to go to
www.dailyoffice.org); find an app that will send you a daily scripture meditation, such as Jesus
Calling or d365.org to find devotions for every day of the year. Find some time to devote yourself
to stillness and listening in the presence of God.
No one can do the listening for you. No one else can listen with your ears and heart and
absorb the words of God. You are the one who needs to hear what Christ has to say to you.