My Life As A Monk

Listening to God in prayer is a topic that obviously resonates with a lot of people! Since I posted my previous blog entry, I have been privileged to interact with dozens of people through Email, Facebook, and blog comments. Many of you shared personal examples of how you listen to God. Many raised great questions. Most have admitted to a daily struggle to take time and listen in prayer. And some have been curious about the year I was classified as a monk in the Czech Labor Office. This has prompted more thinking about "life as a modern day monk".

How does one live a life of solitude, reflection, and prayer as an evangelical Christian living in Western society in the year 2012? What do I write about a "monk's lifestyle" on my iPad, sitting in a room with 10 people, including my kids and their cousins watching the Czech television show "Pat and Mat"? Ask me if I spent an hour in prayer this morning and I will have to admit to "hurrying" so I could catch some of the kids before they woke everyone else in the house up. So how does one live in conversation with God both during intentional quiet times and during regular life activities? And maybe more importantly, is this something that God desires?

A quick survey of Scripture shows us that, yes, it is the norm for God to lead, guide, teach, remind of what Jesus taught, convict, and interact with his children in many ways throughout the day. It is also a good practice to pull away from regular, daily activities to pray. Just look at Jesus' example of spending time in prayer and seeking his Father's guidance Mark 1:35-39. Or how the Holy Spirit leads, speaks, or otherwise interacts with people in the book of Acts Acts 4:8, 4:31, 13:2,9, 21:11.

Many people have gotten inspiration on the topic of communicating with God throughout the day from the writings of Brother Lawrence, especially The Practice of the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence was a French monk who lived in the 1600s and found that he could carry on a conversation with God during his daily duties, such as washing the dishes. As recorded in an updated English version of this book, Practicing His Presence, he talks about this continual conversation with God. "I have found that we can establish ourselves in a sense of the presence of God by continually talking with Him. It is simply a shameful thing to quit conversing with Him to think of trifles nd foolish things. We should feed and nourish our souls with high notions of god which will yeld great joy."

Frank Laubach was a 20th century evangelical Christian missionary who developed a literacy program in the Philippines. He wrote a series of letters to his father which talked about conversing with God during the day. In a pamphlet entitled The Game With Minutes, he challenges Christians to develop the habit of thinking about God one second of every minute of the day. In his letters, it is clear that he struggled with this habit. "This concentration upon God is strenuous, but everything else has ceased to be."

My experience is that I need to work on two distinct but connected disciplines: getting away to be quiet and alone with God and communicating with him throughout my regular days. My times away with God help me refocus so that my conversation during regular days is enriched. And my conversation during regular days keeps me close to God so my times away start off with more of a connection. I have found the same to be true with communication with my wife. We need to get away from the kids and work responsibilities and spend quality time together. But we also need to grab some conversation throughout regular days. Otherwise when wet to "our time" away, we have to spend a lot of time just getting caught up on "business".

Maybe that is the biggest thing to realize. Communication and conversation flow out of a relationship. Just as with a friend, you must both listen and share in order to build your relationship. The more you build your relationship the more you will want to listen and share. God desires to listen to you and hear about your thoughts, dreams, and disappointments. He also want to share his thoughts, dreams, and disappointments.

Please keep the emails, Facebook messages and comments coming! How do you manage to find time to listen to God in prayer during the day?

Quotes from Practicing His Presence, Beaumont, Texas: Seed Sowers, 1973 pages 15,42