“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone” - Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal’s famous quote rings true even today; most especially today, I should say. My purpose in penning this blog post isn’t to launch a cultural critique, but rather to make a positive point about a life of prayer – a life in a relationship with Jesus. In the subtle movements of the soul, there is an important “space” that occurs between finitude and the infinite. It is the space that occurs between God’s action and our understanding. The space is where both exterior and interior activity are at rest, even for a moment, and we actually become receptive. To become receptive is to let go of the old, stunted self and open the heart up to be alive with a Life that is not our own – a life that is more vibrant, imaginative, and creative than our own. The space is where we give God the room in our will to expand our soul with His love.
The space occurs between where my words end and God’s words begin. Now, rightfully understood, all prayer is a response to God’s first invitation to love, Whose words are already working and active in our hearts. Sitting in the space, though, is being willing to sit in a place that extends beyond my sphere of natural understanding. Take, for example, the time in prayer when we offer ourselves to God and pour out our hearts to him. The space comes, if even briefly, between where I offer myself to Him and trust in loving faith that He hears and will respond. It is a very real thing that we must wait in the space for His voice and open up our hearts to be receptive to the grace He desires to give to us. The space, far from a sort of nothingness, is a place of love and faith. It is also not any real type of distance, because the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes a literal dwelling of Another in me. The space is room for the imagination to be receptive to truth and to be purified of its bentness toward the self or toward the world. Since it is beyond our control how God will work in the space, it is a place that is naturally uncomfortable, at least at first. The space is a cliff of sorts, but a cliff that comes with the guarantee of greater good and prized treasures, the most prized being God Himself with a love that satisfies our desires and heals our soul.
I am concerned that our culture is dead set on annihilating the space.
The space isn’t just a time of quiet in prayer. It occurs when I have some silence on a walk, or when I pause to admire a part of creation, or when I take the time to notice. The space allows us to ask big questions, to dream ideas, and to really “pray without ceasing.” All healing prayer requires sitting in the space with another and letting God’s healing Presence come crashing into our brokenness (If you want more on this in relation to healing prayer, read Leanne Payne’s Healing Presence or Restoring the Christian Soul Through Healing Prayer). We must not let the space be stolen by that which does not have a right to it. Our current innovations are in many ways brilliant and useful, but they cannot be used to eliminate that precious place of quiet and receptivity. For those who are deeply uncomfortable with what they find in the space, there are many distractions to keep them occupied. Let us not be fooled by the fact that this is often ourselves.
As we grow with Jesus, the space actually becomes a joyful experience of love. We see that the space is really a meeting point for us and God, where “deep is calling out to deep” and communion is as real as the noses on our faces. Creativity, hope, and joy, even in the midst of difficulty, fill the heart. But this comes with giving ourselves to God’s presence in the space and learning to wait and listen to what He would say to us. The space is the holy ground where this takes place.
[...] and timelessness had wafted its sweet aroma my way and in this moment I felt like I could really sit in the space. It is here that the bold flashes of reality become clear and definite – as if you can feel [...]