Spiritual Walk and Musings: Taking that wall out continued.

a verse or two

“"Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Taking that wall out continued.

Last week I mused on the idea of renovation work. Umm … there is a problem when doing renovation work. It makes life difficult, it hurts. Studies on stress levels within marriage and family life suggest the stress levels caused by kitchen renovation are as high as a when family goes through the death of a loved one or shifting house to live in a new town. One reason is because the kitchen is the centre / hub of the house and if the kitchen is not working, the whole household comes under pressure and strain.

So last week when I suggested letting the objective Jesus wander along and see if any heart renovation needs to be done, what I didn’t mention is this can be uncomfortable. It takes effort and intentionality. On the other hand we know that stress is a good thing, it keeps us on our toes. Think of the high stress that the organisers of our Wedding Dress Extravaganza went through … but look at the result. (From a healthy mind, body, and soul point of view, the big thing is to not be stressed all the time – have gaps in between the high stress moments. And therefore allow stress to be an ally, let it be a tool so we are on the ball and do things well. Fill the heart with good things in-between the stress. Make time to restore your soul.)

We all work hard, in our gardens, at hobbies, our jobs and for church and we get results. So why do we sometimes sidestep the important work of working on and caring for our heart? Possibly because it’s unseen, possibly because our soul / heart is the very hub of who we are and when it’s having renovations, it affects the whole of our life (not just one part), and that can be uncomfortable. Or perhaps it’s because unlike hammering in a kitchen with lots of noise and sawdust, soul work can often be quiet, taking time out in silence, in prayer. Or could it be to us good ole Presbyterians with our good ole work ethic, spending idle time restoring our inner-being just doesn’t seem right – we should be doing something productive. Could it be that kneeling is the most productive thing a person can do?
Something to do: Kneel.

Kneeling is totally out of fashion. Even in the most traditional churches the usual position that people adopt to pray is either sitting, standing, or a strange posture that is only comfortable if one is about to shampoo their hair.

This lent, why not do something today that our grandparents may have done every day - find a quiet place and kneel down in order to say the prayer below.

To Ponder and Pray: a prayer by Edward Perronet (1726 - 1792)

All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.
O, that with every tribe and tongue we at his feet may fall,
lift high the universal song
and crown him, crown him, crown him Lord of all.