Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus visiting the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. While Martha was stressing out over the details of having so many people in their home (cooking, cleaning, who knows what else), she famously complained to Jesus about the fact that Mary was just sitting there listening to Him. Jesus, however, affirmed that Mary had chosen best. Commenting on Luke 10:42, Nancy Pearcey reminds us of the difficulty of pausing from busy lives to sit and listen to Jesus:

"Given our fallen human nature, we typically do not really sit before the Lord until our legs are knocked out from under us by crises - sorrow, loss, or injustice. It is only when stripped of our personal dreams and ambitions that we truly die to our own agendas. Union with Christ in His death and resurrection is the only path to sanctification of both heart and mind - to being conformed to the likeness of Christ."

--- Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, 26

What does it mean to sit at the feet of the Lord? How can you cultivate such an experience in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life?

Bonhoeffer on Mornings

"For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word. All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to him to whom our whole life belongs."

-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 43.

Solitude

"Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life... We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do no set aside some time to be with God and listen to him."

-- Henri Nouwen, quoted by Ruth Barton in Invitation to Solitude and Silence.

We often try to squeeze prayer into our day wherever it will fit - in the car, in the shower, on the go. And there's nothing wrong with praying like that. But that kind of prayer will not take us into the depths of relationship we desire with God. We need time alone with Him. In a famous passage from the Gospel of Mark (1:35), we read of Jesus:

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

What is your habit of prayer? Do you find it desirable to spend time in solitary prayer? Why or why not?