Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes) Scripture Reading – Luke 6:12-18 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles…He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon. Devotional This is a beautiful story…Jesus spent the night in solitude with God. In the morning, he gathered his apostles around him and formed community. In the afternoon, with his apostles, he went out and preached the Word and healed the sick. Notice the order – from solitude to community to ministry. So often in ministry, I have wanted to do it myself. If it didn’t work, I went to others and said “Please!” searching for a community to help me. If that didn’t work, maybe I’d start praying. But the order Jesus teaches us is the reverse – solitude, community, and ministry, three disciplines by which we create space for God. If we create space in which God can act and speak, something surprising will happen. Henri Nouwen, A Spirituality of Living Question to Consider In what way(s) might you also be reversing the order of Jesus? How might He be inviting you today to adjust your schedule so that solitude, community and then ministry is your order as well? Prayer Lord, you know the many voices calling for my attention today. Grant me the grace and power to be in touch with the Spirit, to hear the voice of the Spirit, and to allow myself to be guided by the Spirit – wherever He may lead. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
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