You are here to kneel.

A few years ago my daughter and I embarked on a challenge to say meaningful prayers both morning and evening. What I found most humbling about this experience (which at first seemed so basic and de rigeur  there could almost BE no challenge) was that as soon as I put my mind to it, committing and focusing on daily morning and evening prayers, I felt the adversary launch a deliberate attack. I found things getting in the way. I found myself pressed for time, running late. And as much as I hate to admit it, I occasionally found myself not wanting to pray, looking for an excuse or a way out...which is strange. I have always loved prayer, clung to prayer, trusted in prayer. Prayer is the most consistent habit of my spiritual life.

The good news is I fought back, largely because of my commitment to do this and stick to it, because I said I would. (There's probably a lesson in that sentence alone...something about the power of promises, perhaps?) 

One thing that helped me was a thought from my blogger friend Jessica Stock a couple of years ago. She talked about all of the times as a mother she finds herself on her knees, and decided to make each one an opportunity for prayer. So I did exactly that. Not only did I pray morning and night, I also prayed each time I scrubbed a floor, searched for a lost shoe, etc. 

The best thing that came out of this for me was that I pulled out of whatever funk I was in, felt reconnected to God, and conquered the opposition. In the end, I found that I was back where I'd been before, with my desire to pray renewed, because I wanted to talk with my Heavenly Father and be closer to him. I learned that having made a commitment helped me through a dry spell I never could have anticipated. I came away both humbler and stronger.

When I was in college, I took a break from art school and spent a summer at Cambridge University studying English literature. One of the life-changing discoveries I made there (and there were many!) was T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. During that same semester we were touring houses and parishes of the English countryside, and one day touring a parish I stumbled onto this dark prayer alcove off one of the tiny chapels. There was nothing in the room but a small prayer bench under a leaded-glass window. As I stepped into the alcove, I noticed a stream of light pouring through the window, flooding the bench with sunlight, like rays of heaven, and thought of this quote from the Four Quartets:

 

    You are not here to verify,

    Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity

    Or carry report. You are here to kneel

    Where prayer has been valid. 

 

So whenever I find myself in a quiet chapel (of any faith or denomination) I remember that I am first and foremost in a sacred space, and try to take time to kneel. Kneeling invites light. I want more light in my life. I try to see every task that brings me to my knees (talking to a child, wiping up a spill on the floor, searching for a lost key), in addition to more formal prayers, as an opportunity to kneel...where prayer has been valid.

***

For related content on this topic, check out this article I wrote on prayer: http://familyshare.com/faith/does-prayer-work
And my favorite of our early shows on seeking greater connnection with the divine: Post-it Notes from God. TLR8: Post-it Notes from God

#livingroomwithjana

#tiesthatbind

 

   Jana Winters Parkin is an artist, writer, teacher, and adjunct art instructor at UVU. She and her husband have 3 kids and 2 dogs, and she spends every day possible rejuvenating her soul in Utah's glorious mountains. She writes at  divergent pathways and exhibits her work at janaparkin.com.

 

 

Return to the The Living Room Podcast Page
Connect with Us




Subscribe Here

Stay Up To Date With
The Living Room Show

* indicates required


Light the World


Links














Visit our Hosts

Our amazing co-hosts are worth a follow!

Check out their websites!

Heather Johnson

FamilyVolley.com

Jana Parkin

JanaParkin.com

Jodi Robinson

ShareLoveServe.com

https://www.facebook.com/savespaceforgrace

Michelle McCullough

SpeakMichelle.com