Week 2: Rest
For many of us in an urban, productive, fast-paced city like Los Angeles, our souls are regularly prone to busyness, exhaustion, and burnout. There is a spiritual danger in living in a city like LA that goes beyond consumerism or falling away from the faith. As the martyred missionary Jim Eliot once said, “I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds….Satan is quite aware of the power of silence.” This week, we’re going to spend time resting from that unholy trinity by making an effort to regularly spend time in silence with the God of all peace. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Begin with silence and prayer (5 min)
Gather together as a group in a comfortable setting (around a table, on the couch, the floor of a living room, etc.). Say a quick prayer to invite the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together. Then spend a few minutes in silence. Why silence, even while together? Because we live in a busy, noisy world, under a non-stop assault of distraction. Amid all the chaos, it’s hard at times to hear the voice of God, and that of our brothers and sisters. As we gather together, we want to hear what the Father is saying to and through each of us, and respond in turn. A great way to do that is to begin each time with silence and prayer.
Debrief last week’s practice (10 min)
Catch up on the past week… Then read discuss the following questions:
1. How did last week’s practice of silence and solitude go?
2. What was the best part? The hardest part?
3. What did the practice reveal about your relationship with God? (Positive or negative. Remember, work hard for honest conversation)
4. What renewal or clarity did you find through the practice?
Discuss the Scriptures and last week’s teaching (10 min)
Read Mark 6:30–47 and discuss the following questions:
1. Did you read the passage before Sunday? What stuck out to you in the passage when your first read through it?
2. Did you listen to the teaching? What did you think?
3. What keeps you from rest and finding a place of silence and solitude? (Crowds of sick and hungry Jewish followers? Calendar? Toddlers? Distractions? iPhone? Apathy?)
Talk about the coming week’s practice (10-30m)
1. Put away your phone or any other distractions, settle into your time/place, and get comfortable.
2. Begin with your breathing prayer
— Revisit Week 1 for details on #1 & #2
3. Rest in the presence of God
— Transition from your breathing prayer to “the practice of the presence of God.”
— Notice God’s presence all around you, in you. For some people, it’s helpful to imagine Jesus sitting in the chair across from you or God on a throne, or the Spirit resting over them.
— Welcome his love, joy, and peace from the Holy Spirit.
— The main goal here is simply to “be with Jesus.” Don’t feel like you have to “do” anything but relax and enjoy his presence.
3. Close in a prayer of gratitude and commit the rest of your day to the Father
A few things to note…
— Like Jesus, you may find that solitude and rest is sometimes a hard thing to find. Like Jesus, the goal is to roll with the disruptions of life and meet them with grace, and then committing to return to that place of solitude and rest. This may mean that you need a spouse or friend to help with children for some time, or to go for a walk instead of cuddled up with coffee, there is no prescription other than the invitation to “come away by yourself to a quiet place and rest awhile.”
— With this week’s practice of resting, you may doze off. Do not feel any guilt, but allow yourself to celebrate the gift of that rest as you move into your day. As a father, my daughter may fall asleep in my arms while reading to her or telling her a story. My response is not anger or displeasure, but joy that my child feels safe in my arms. The same is true with our Heavenly Father.
— If you do find yourself regularly falling asleep when you enter into silence and solitude, it is likely a sign from your body that you are not getting enough sleep at night! Listen to your body as a gentle invitation from God toward health.
Work through these discussion questions (10-15 min)
Any thoughts, creative ideas, for this coming week’s Practice?
What activities do you find most restful? Connect you to God? How can you integrate into the practice for this week?
What preparations will you need to make in order to rest through silence and solitude?
What impact would beginning the day from a posture of rest have on your work, family, relationships?