David Loveless

Practicing Silence With God in Solitude

One of the simplest, yet powerful ways to strengthen your journey with Christ... and to regularly enter into the REST that He promised is available... is to practice silence with HIm in solitude.  

This weekend my wife is teaching a group of people around this topic and I asked if I could STEAL what she prepared in order to SHARE it with you!!  So read it... then practice it... and watch what initially will feel awkward and un-natural... over time... become transformational in you.

A prayer before you begin:

Unburden me, Lord. Unpack my anxious thoughts that replay in my head in a continuous loop.

Unburden me of defeating lies that say I am insignificant or incapable of being still for any length of time in your presence.

 Free me of concerns beyond my control, beyond my power, beyond my responsibility. Let it be enough that you hoist all these issues & hindrances on your own strong back and carry them where you will without my help or interference.

Loose me even from my need to be in control of our time alone. Let it be enough that I am sitting here with you. Let it be enough that you are here with me.  Just being alone together is our only goal. I have no agenda for the outcome.

Unburden me of the burden to “get this right” or perform some act for you. Help me let go of striving to accomplish something useful for your service.  Let it be okay with me that I come to you, as I truly am, without my spiritual make up, exposed, unpretentious, yet totally protected by you as I arrive in my utter vulnerability.   

Father, I come to you right now. Dispel any fear that I sit here alone. Still me now at the deepest depths of my soul. Quiet me with the peace of your all-encompassing love.

 

* During your time:

Settle into a comfortable position and take several deep breaths…inhale deeply and exhale slowly. As you breathe become more still, quieted.  Gently let time become a non-issue. Begin to allow that which is usually unknown and unnamed within you to come to the surface.  (Examples: anger, woundedness, anxiousness, ambition, frustration, envy, control, etc.)

 Choose a prayer phrase that expresses your openness and desire for God... make it something not longer than about 6- 8 syllables.  (Examples:  “Here I Am Father, ”

“Come be with Me Lord, ”) Pray this as you breathe going into silence and as a way to returning to it when you feel distracted.  You will feel distractions. Let them pass by like clouds in the sky passing over you. Notice them and then gently come back to your prayer phrase.

 Resist the urge to judge yourself or your time in silence. The purpose of time spent here is just to be with God in whatever state you are in and let Him be in control. Trust whatever your time was like is exactly as it should be.

Close your time by praying the Lord’s Prayer, The 23^rd Psalm or a prayer of gratitude for God’s presence with you. 

 

 * After the Silence:

If you want, for your own observation and understanding, in a few brief sentences jot down whatever you noticed as you sat quietly with the Lord. 

 

Scriptures

Be at rest once more O my soul for the Lord has been good to you  …Ps. 116:7

 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him Ps. 37: 8

 Search me O God and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts.Ps. 139:23

 He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.   Ps 23: 2

 The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you  He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.   Zeph. 3:17

( * Like mother/grandmother beaming with love over a child—singing a lullaby)

The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.  My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,  in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.    Isa 32: 16- 18

My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Ps 131: 1&2

 *Recommended book—Invitation to Silence & Solitude by Ruth Haley Barton

 

 

 

The Divine Hours

Several years ago, I starting engaging in a very ancient practice called Divine Hours- or fixed hour prayer.  Rather than trying to have a singular time alone with God each day, I tried to move into a rhythm of : Relating to Him… then Working with Him…. Relating to Him… then Working with Him… and having that as a rythmn each day.  One of the practices that I’ve used in Relating to Him throughout the day, is thru fixed- hour prayer. 

People have prayed at fixed hours during the day for centuries. Quietly easing away from the obligations of home or work, they take a few moments to spend time with God. These moments connect them to the Divine, and to the countless others who are also pausing to pray the prayers designated for that hour, on that day. Prayers whispered and chanted, spoken loud and clear or murmured silently within, all join together in a continuous flow, a river of words from our soul to God’s.

The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle is a manual for fixed-hour prayer. It presents the prayers to be prayed at the divine hours of every day: Morning prayers, for prayer between 6 and 9; midday prayers for praying between 11 and 2; and evening prayers to pray between 5 and 8, and help us gently close the day.

Praying the hours enjoins us to stop, let go of all that occupies us, and focus on the sacred at regular intervals throughout the day. Suddenly, every day becomes holy, for every day is laced together by our appointments with God.

To access this type of praying electronically… like I do… go to the below website and it will change out these fixed hour prayers, every 3 hours, throughout the day and evening.

http://explorefaith.org/prayer/prayer/fixed/pray_the_hours.php

 

 

Weekend recap: "Renting Vs Owning"

The age-old issue is: “Who’s in charge?”  When God gave Adam & Eve one commandment in the Garden, the issue wasn’t what the commandment was, the issue was why He gave them one.  He told them that He had created them to relate to Him and to rule with Him.  He went on to explain that He was going to allow them to rule over all creation…and that would always go ‘well’…as long as they were allowing Him to rule over them.  That one commandment was intended to demonstrate their obedience… their ongoing desire for Him to be ultimately in charge… that He was King… and while they were granted stunning benefits… they were still the subjects. 

 Jesus told the parable in Mark 12:1-11 about the owner who created a vineyard… and equipped it for total success…. And then rented it out to some farmers… only to then have those farmers beat & reject all His servants He sent in to collect just a small percentage of the profit.  When He told this parable, He was reiterating what God had in the beginning… “Never lose sight of who is temporarily in charge VS who is ultimately in charge.”

Mark 12:1-11 teaches me that:  “God sends us ongoing ‘messengers’ to remind us that our ‘vineyards’ belong to Him”

So receive God’s messengers that He sends your way… when you’ve gotten off mission or off message… don’t shoot the messenger.  Messengers like: The Sabbath; The Tithe; His Word; a friend; a spouse; a circumstance

Remember that the vineyard you possess is only temporary… your time; resources; abilities; opportunities; relationships; all have His image stamped on them because they belong to Him… they don’t have your image stamped on them because… well, you get the idea.

 And finally, don’t forget that He is ultimately going to call us to account for what we did with our/His vineyards.  He tells us ahead of time what we can expect on our final exam.

* In the Great White Throne Judgement we will be asked:  “What did you do with my son Jesus?”

In the Judgement Seat of Christ we’ll be asked:  “What did you do with the stuff I entrusted to you (time; resources; gifts; relationships; opportunities)?”  Did you use it for my glory or yours?

What attitude or behavior do you need to further embrace in order to align yourself with who’s in charge?

 

 

Yeah, it's FREE

  1 Corinthians 2:12-13,16 What we have received is… the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words…But we have the mind of Christ.

 

FREE!!! . Those words normally jump... Cause me to pay attention...but then we think FREE... You get what you pay for... Or nothing in life is FREE...but when God is the author... the creator… the giver of FREE... That should make me desirous at the deeper levels... Willing to go shopping now.

 

Everyday I need to be passionately asking, seeking, and knocking for ALL things given FREELY to me by God.  This passage made me wonder again today: “What am I currently lacking that God has already given me for FREE?  What is it?  Where is it?  How can I obtain it?

 

God’s covenantal promises… that are to lead to present-day realities… aren’t primarily about all the things I think I already know about… or have already experienced…but they are things that my eyes have not yet seen… my ears have not heard… and my mind has not conceived!!!  And to think that ALL of them are FREE.  Excuse me while I go do some more shopping.

 

 

 

Dazzled & Desirous of...

While reading this morning in the book of Exodus about the tabernacle and all of its intricate & detailed furnishings… that were beautiful...dazzling... I was struck by the fact that the most awesome feature was not the furniture (or later on, the magnificent temple that was built)  but the person who was in it- Almighty, Amazing, Awe-inspiring God!

 Why is it so easy to focus on the wrong things.... the things that matter least.  Why do I so often become so consumed with the created instead of the creator?  For example, sometimes when I travel, I will walk into a gorgeous facility or auditorium where I’m about to give a talk and I become struck by the wrong thing.  For quite sometime, Discovery Church has had a significant need for a new facility… and while that need is legitimate and needs to be addressed (which we’re working on) I want my greatest vision and desire to not be around increasing seats… increasing efficient spaces…. Increasing the aesthetic appeal… but increasing how much of the manifest presence of God is in it.

 What are you focused on… mesmerized by… desirous of?  May our greatest desire be an increased awareness of His presence… wherever we are… and in His church.

 

 

 

Wknd Recap: "Mountain Moving"

Here are the things that I've been journaling & thinking about from this past weekend...

When you live God-dependent, the immovable becomes movable.

Mark 11:22-24  "Have faith in God," Jesus answered.  "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them."

Jesus' challenge to us is to: Focus MORE on WHO can make a way THAN WHAT is standing in the way.  

When I focus MORE on WHO can make a way... then I put my primary focus on: How big my God is; God's ability; His goodness; His covenantal history; His Word; think & talk more about WHO can make a way

When I focus MORE on WHAT is standing in the way.... then I put my primary focus on: How big my mountain is; how complicated the circumstances are; think & talk more about 'WHAT' is standing in the way.

Jesus stuns us when He present us with one of the most contrarian thoughts of all time:  the small size of a prayer (size of a mustard seed) can overwhelm the large size of a mountain!!!  While meditating on this thought, the Lord showed me a 'picture' of this when He reminded me of David's small stone vs Goliath's huge stature!    

So.... I have a list of the top 10 mountains that need to be moved....in my life; my family; Discovery Church's ministry.  I am spending more time 'speaking' to those mountains, than I am just thinking about them.  

Focus on WHO... Speak to the WHAT

Wknd Recap: "All Access"

Everyone is supposed to get an ACCESS card!  God came to remove ALL the barriers so that we would have complete ACCESS to a life-giving relationship with Him and with one another.  As a child, growing up in small, segregated towns in Oklahoma, I realized that some people had 'ACCESS' cards and others didn't... and that was not God's heart.

I got UPSET this past week, the more I studied Mark 11:15-17.  I had been taught all of my life that Jesus' primary emphasis in the passage was that the church was supposed to be a 'house of prayer."  But as I dove into the background, I realized that the 'rumors I'd heard were true'- the primary point was that worship & prayer ACCESS to the Gentiles was being prevented by the Jews.  That is why Jesus said: "...my house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL nations."  

When the Jews flooded the one area of the temple, that the Gentiles were able to gather in (the Court of the Gentiles), with all of their religious merchandising, these practices prevented the Gentiles from ACCESSING their only place of worship.  

Jesus cleansed the temple not just to get rid of corrupt financial practices BUT to open up the Father's house to ALL people.  What initially seems so destructive on Jesus' part was actually a great act of love. We should have the SAME DESIRE that ALL people have ACCESS to HIm and His resources.

Ephesians 2:14-17 The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance…Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody. Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility

NO WALL is acceptable in the Kingdom of God...no racial wall; gender wall; religious wall; political wall.  The enemy keeps trying to erect walls between us and God and with each other.  

How can you live today... and help remove the walls... in the church... and in relationships... that prevent ACCESS for certain types of people?  Start handing out "ACCESS cards.'

This past weekend, we looked @ Mark 11:17 "...my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."  

God's heart has always been to remove ALL barriers that prevent ACCESS to Him and HIs resources.  In the Ma

 

Letters of transformation

Here are a couple of excerpts, from several of the many responses from last weekends services... From Mark 11 on the importance of- "Keep voicing your need to the one who can meet it."   These are the kinds of things that keep me going.  The real 'kick in the pants' for me is when I see evidence of the transfomration of God's love and power in someone's life.

In response to the video interview I did with Juli B... who came to DC 9 years ago, with her same sex partner...and was also a workaholic & sex addict... and who now has experienced a massive transformation both internally & externally...

"Hi Juli, wanted to tell you how awesome you were on camera!  Your testimony speaks so strongly to all people.  I pondered why I can relate so well when I have had no struggle with homosexuality personally. I came to the conclusion that your story is relatable to every individual.  We all have a similar core struggle but we take different paths to try and satisfy our needs.  Your success in Christ is where we all hope to land. Thanks for sharing.  So powerful. I am proud to know you and appreciate the sincerity you bring to others.  God is surely using you in a mighty way.  Love it!”
Thank you for allowing me to be part of this amazing weekend – a significant – huge milestone in my journey.

"I wanted to mention to you that I was very proud of the interview you did with Julie B, so awesome!!! After the service many were discussing how wonderful it is that she was part of Discovery and felt at home long before she was delivered from her lifestyle. That ...Discovery DNA... has infected us all. That is the reason we became part of DC four years ago. We saw a place that was safe to take your mask off and just open up the bag and let the baggage not be secretive. We saw grace lived out and we longed within our soul for a church that modeled it as it is described within the Word. Julie B was able to articulate a message that was more powerful than her words and it was obvious many were moved. "

" I am not a regular member of Discovery church. My wife and I used to come to the services periodically with our two little girls but I have not personally been to one in almost two years.  Recent events in my life have left me totally off balance and reeling. I have been diagnosed bipolar type II, I am battling depression due to that, my wife is finished with me, wants a separation, and every day talks herself closer and closer into a divorce. I don't want to write you an email dumping all of my life's problems onto you but I needed to tell you how much today's service of Mark 10 meant to me. It seems that my entire life right now is made up of very significant needs that I haven't had the slightest clue how to ask for help with. I have spent the last 5 hours since the service alone in the office I work at for some privacy going over the bible verses, the notes, and calling out to God for help. I have ben asking God for his help for weeks now and today when my wife said she was taking my girls to SeaWorld for the day I decided to attend the 10:45 service. I know that God led me to that service and i want to thank you for it."

 

 

Wknd Recap: "What do you want me to do for you?"

This past weekend we studied Mark 10:46-52, when Jesus asks a blind man a most bizarre question:  "What do you want me to do for you?"  What a strange question!  It's as strange as when Adam & Eve were hiding in the garden and God was walking through it asking- "Where are you?"  

Whenever the Lord asks you a question, it has a purpose.  It's purpose isn't to gain information but to encourage us to articulate our need and then express our faith. Whenever I voice my need to HIm I:

ADMIT- what is & ACTIVATE- what can be.

Something significant... something powerful happens when I acknowledge...confess... ADMIT.  When I ADMIT my sin; my inabilty; my lack.  Is ADMITTING easy or difficult for you?  ADMITTING to God AND to other people.

Then something even bigger happens when I voice my need to the Lord- it ACTIVATES something in the supernatural realm.  It gets something started, that wouldn't have gotten started!  

The Bible tells us that when you keep voicing your need to the one who can meet it, something transformational begins to happen IN US while we are waiting for something transformational to happen AROUND US.  

Jesus didn't just ask the blind man the question... it is a question he asks you everyday: "What do you want me to do for you?"  

So what do you need to ADMIT today so that He can begin to ACTIVATE?

 

Personal Prayer Retreat- part 3

How to stay awake and alert

1. Get adequate rest the two nights before.

2. Change positions-sit a while, walk around, sit, walk, and so on.

3. Have variety in what you do. Read the Scriptures, then prayer, then write, and so on.

4. Pray aloud-in a whisper or soft voice if necessary.

Taking notes

Taking notes during your extended time in prayer will give you a record of the things the Lord is speaking to you about, and also help you keep your time organized.

In addition, when we pray we often have something come to mind that we feel we should take action on, or that we have forgotten to do-perhaps totally unrelated to what we are praying about. By keeping paper ready to list these things so we can act on them later, we can avoid prolonged distraction.

Toward the end of your time in prayer you will want to spend fifteen minutes or so writing down some conclusions. Summarize the major impressions of your time.

Keep these notes in a notebook and review them weekly for a while. This will ensure that you follow through on the things god has impressed on you.

Two questions

Again, we quote Lorne Sanny:

"The result of your day in prayer should be answers to the two questions Paul asked the Lord on the Damascus road (Acts 22:6-10).

"Paul's first question was, 'Who are you, Lord?' The Lord replied, 'I am Jesus.' You will be seeking to know Him, to find out who He is.

"The second questions Paul asked was, 'What shall I do, Lord?' the Lord answered him specifically. This should be answered or reconfirmed for you in that part of the day when you unhurriedly seek His will for you.

"Don't think you must end the day with some new discovery or extraordinary experience. Wait on God and expose yourself to His Word. Looking for a new experience or insight you can share with someone when you get back will get you off the track. True, you may gain some new insight, but often this can just take your attention from the real business.

"The test of such a day is not how exhilarated we are when the day is over but how it works i