He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
“This is the essence of a daily office. We stop our activity and pause to be with the Living God… We move into god’s presence and rest there; that alone is no small feat. There are times when I pause for my midday prayer and find that I spend the entire time available—be it five or twenty minutes—centering so I can let go of my tensions, distractions, and sensations and begin resting in the love of God.
Each office begins and ends with two minutes of silence. All religions practice silence. What makes silence unique for us is that we are silent before the Lord Himself. This will be difficult, especially at first. Our internal and external worlds are filled with noise and distractions. For this reason, silence is probably the most challenging and least experienced discipline among Christians today. Give yourself lots of grace here. Studies suggest that the average person can only bear about fifteen seconds of silence.”
Peter Scazzero in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey with the Daily Office (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014) 12.
Give yourself some grace.
If you are embarking on the Daily Office, which is to pause seven times a day to pray following the example traced all the way back to David in the Old Testament, it’s not an easy discipline but it will enrich all who pursue it and position you for generous living, giving, serving, and loving.
To pause is to find rest, focus, and peace.
Today Jenni and I head back home to Colorado. It has been great to see my mom to observe her 80th birthday, to see my dad and to stay with my brother and his wife. Even as pausing to enjoy time away restores the body, pausing for the Daily Office restores the soul.