Settle In Your Minds (Luke 21:14)

 

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Psalms 92; 93

Exodus 9:13-35

Luke 21:1-19

Settle In Your Minds (Luke 21:14)

I’m sure all of us know what it is like to sense tension with someone else. Maybe they don’t understand what we’re on about; maybe they do, and they are being stubborn. And so we find ourselves in the shower, or sipping on a cup of tea, or being distracted while trying to read a book, rehearsing just what we would like to say to them.

What if that tension were over the most noble and important issue in the world; what if that issue was about Jesus and his death and resurrection?

Letting our thoughts wander can be a helpful spiritual discipline. Yet we must remember how to get back home again, and Jesus wants us to make him that home. If we were arrested tonight, and held in prison awaiting a trial before God-hating authorities, how would we spend that time? The words we would need in order to bring our accusers to our side, that is, to bring about a new heart and a new spirit, would have to be miraculous words indeed. They would have to be words from the Holy Spirit himself. Instead of rehearsing a speech, it would be far better to spend that time resting in the Lord in prayer.

Regular prayer time is important. St Paul teaches us elsewhere that we are to “pray without ceasing”. One way to ensure we do so is to put ourselves under strict self-discipline and keep regular prayer times through the day. The Benedictine monks do so seven times, and you can even get an app for that! Anglican clergy, before we are ordained, sign our names on a document which obligates us to pray at least three times a day. Many faithful Christians around the world find themselves unable to start their day properly without “checking in” first with God, in some form of daily morning devotion.

Whatever that discipline is for you, I encourage you to keep it. And you should be encouraging your fellow Christians around you to keep theirs. Because prayer is, amongst other things, a sort of “topping up” of spiritual insight. Body builders joke about skipping “leg day”, where they get big arm muscles and tiny little chicken legs. It is the same with our spirit: pray often, and keep those muscles strong. And when you are dragged before the authorities, you need not meditate on what you will say beforehand. Because Christ will be there, giving you the words you need to say, and the Holy Spirit will work miracles.

How often do you talk about God? How often do you talk to God? Which one do you need to focus on?

God of our comfort, who hears the prayers of all who call on you: settle our hearts in your abiding presence, so that the words we speak may be your words, and incline the hearts of all who hear us to you.