Dear Friends, �Solitude is the furnace of transformation.� -Henri J. M. Nouwen
The Power of Solitude Psalm 4:1-4 1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. 2 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him. 4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Clearly, we live in a loud society. This is not simply a problem in some parts of the world; rather, industrialized society and fast-paced living have filled the world�s airwaves with what can only be described as �noise.� Some of the noise is useful; for example, a late-breaking news report on all channels that warns of an approaching storm. However, many things that fill our ears are practically pointless. Why is the noise there, and why do we need it? In Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster speculates, �One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless . . . . If we are silent, who will take control?� Very often, words are not only our means of communication, they are our means of control. We use words to manipulate our environment, to indelibly set our fingerprints on any given situation. If we don�t speak up, then someone else will swoop in and take charge. Sometimes, this is exactly what needs to happen. Foster continues, �If we are silent, who will take control? God will take control.� Our prayer lives are too often marked by an overabundance of talking, petitioning, and posturing. It is of extreme value to spend time daily talking with the Lord. However, it is also necessary to spend time in utter solitude before Him, allowing Him to speak to you uninterrupted. Take a moment to filter out the �noise,� and listen for God�s voice. Copyright � 2000, IN TOUCH Magazine. In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Your's in Jesus, Biji James, Bangalore Everything you'll ever need on one web page from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts http://uk.my.yahoo.com **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to this mailing list, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************************************************
