Ephesians 2:4-5: Competing Responses to Disruptions

The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in His divine company, speaking humbly and lovingly with him in all seasons, at every moment, without limiting the conversation in any way. ~ Brother Lawrence 

How do we practice the presence of God? During a panel discussion "Less Disruptions, More Presence" this past Sunday at our church there seemed to be two competing strategies towards coming into God's presence. The first is the path of solitude. The second is the path of rhythm.

One of the underlying assumptions in all of these discussions is that the presence of God is not a normal part of human existence. We don't naturally experience him, the kingdom of heaven or, indeed, much of anything spiritual.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 (ESV)

When choosing sin, we lost our spiritual sense-the sense that allows us to experience directly God's kingdom. Elisha asked and God enabled a servant to see the horses and chariots that surrounded them. We often speak of the God (through his Spirit) speaking with us or stirring us or nudging us. What sense are we using? We lack the vocabulary to even describe it, so we borrow other sense words: "Hear the Lord." "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

There is a sense-a spiritual sense. We were not born with it, but we are all capable of it through regeneration in Christ. It was there in Eden, and part of God's design for all humans and it died with sin. 

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. -  Ephesians 2:4-5

But this sense-even among the regenerate-is atrophied. So while hearing the Spirit (what word should I use!?) through this reawakened sense is startling and sweet, we are not used to it. Think of it as a drinking nectar through a micro-pipette. While we have been conditioned from birth to experience the world through our five senses, we have relatively little experience sensing spiritually. As a result, we often don't notice, or if we notice, we misinterpret what we experience. So the presence of God and the voice of God get drowned out by a thousand other sensations that pour into our brain every minute.

The path of solitude addresses this deficiency by removing distractions. Solitude uses silence to allow the "still, small voice" to break through into our consciousness. We can, with practice, hear God and enter his presence and, over time, widen our sensitivity so that the information that we can handle widens from a micro-pipette-sized flow to a straw-sized flow to maybe even a fire hose. In the same way that physical therapy restores an underused muscle to full capacity, the practice of solitude can restore our underdeveloped spiritual sensitivity to a greater capacity to hear and sense God.

One of the spiritual directors (Dan Maust) on Sunday related this path to "prayer dreaming". It takes advantage of the silence, where our brain will naturally wander-sometimes in predictable and sometimes in unpredictable. Rather than fighting this, he suggests that we pray and ask God into each of the items that pass into our thoughts during silence. I have found that long periods of silence, such as those in long drives or airplane flights, often provide the quiet that creates the context for God to speak and me to listen.

I think this is important because we are often too busy, even in our "quiet" times. Why? Because we have filled it with books and Scripture chapters and prayer lists that never leave room for God to speak because we have pre-determined the agenda.

The path of rhythm addresses this deficiency differently, by inviting God into the craziness of everyday life. Rather than removing distractions, it strives to invite God into the distraction using a "familiar, humble and very affectionate conversation with the Lord Jesus." Brother Lawrence comments:

The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees. ~ Brother Lawrence

Both of these paths are important. We must widen the channel that flows between us and God. The path of solitude helps with that. But the path of solitude takes a rather negative view of disruptions. Should we reject disruptions as moving us away from God's presence-a posture of retreat in the face of what is happening in the environments where God has placed us?

No, rather the path of rhythm takes these "distractions" or "interruptions" as a beat in the musical score. We converse with God at these situations and attune ourselves to his voice.  The problem with an over-emphasis on this approach is the risk of allowing the external world to determine the agenda, rather than allowing God to insert his agenda.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. - John 10:25

Spend time in quiet. Invite God to each situation.