Babbling to God

"Do not babble as the Gentiles do..."

  I had to smile as I read that passage from Matthew's gospel.  "Babbling" is a word I have never associated with prayer, but it is a pretty accurate description of some prayer, I think.  Do you ever "babble" when praying?  I know that I do sometimes - usually when afraid, or deeply worried or anxious.  I babble a lot on airplanes.  "Please God, let this thing land safely and I will be a better person!  I will do whatever you want, just don't let this plane crash!"  Babble, babble babble.  When I am struggling with some problem and long for God's assistance in the solution I often find myself chattering away without stopping for breath. Babble, babble, babble.

Nouen is right on the mark when he says that we so often expect solutions, answers, responses, and we want them immediately. NOW.  When that doesn't happen we are frustrated and wonder what the purpose of prayer is, anyway.  We may increase the babbling and hope that God will hurry up and do something.  Trouble is, we don't always know how to be quiet and listen to Jesus, and to our own hearts, where indeed Jesus abides.

I don't know about you, but I find sitting quietly and listening for Jesus, listening to my own heart, is difficult.  There are so many distractions, so many things to do, so many responsibilities to think about - and these distractions seem to attack the minute I try to focus on God.  It takes a certain amount of discipline - a word the modern world does not much like - to stop our babbling and to just be quiet.  To listen.  To open our hearts and to find God there.  To stand with our hands open to the world, as Nouen suggests.  To see the glory that is God in all that is around us.

Outside my window this morning the ground is pristine with snow, and in the snow are little footprints made by myriad creatures who have crossed over our lawn in the night.  It is a sight beautiful beyond words.   It is part of God's secret that the world holds within itself, as Nouen writes. Like most secrets, it is whispered.  We must be still to hear it; we must quiet the confused babbling and rest in the presence of the One who has created us all.

Take some time today to look out at the snow, the bright sunshine, the blueness of the winter sky. Be still.  Listen.  Open your heart to the beauty of it all.  God is speaking, whispering.  Listen. Listen.