Prayer MOJO: When doing nothing is really doing something

6/20/2012

Prayer MOJO: When doing nothing is really doing something

Gertrude Stein wrote in her book Everybody's Autobiography (1937), "It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing."

I must say I do agree. At least it can look that way to an observer. And it often feels that way to the one going through the process of sitting, thinking, squirming, waiting, wondering, gazing out the window, staring at the wall, clipping fingernails, thinking... all the while waiting for some outward sign of forward movement.

Oh, how many times have I experienced just that. Each time I think I will discover some new way to circumvent the process. And then, here we go again.

A couple of years ago, I was in the middle of what looked and felt like a "doing nothing" patch. I had been staring at the walls for a decent chunk of time as January dragged into February. When it looked like February might pass into March without much to say for it, I reached out to a Christian Science practitioner for help.

Christian Science practitioners (like me) pray for people to help them out of stuck places in their lives. I wasn't sure what I was looking for from this prayer, other than the ability to trust that all this quiet, and thinking, and sitting, and doing nothing but scrutinize my white walls, was OK... And to know that I wasn't nuts. Because, frankly, I wondered what was wrong with me that nothing seemed to be going on in my life.

So she prayed for me until I saw the reinforcing power that develops in deep periods of quiet. I would describe what I saw this way:

Think of the formation of a wave. A wave develops well under the surface on the ocean floor. The current (think undertow, when it happens near the shore) pulls back, and finally pushes up, propelling the water forward with amazing force. We glory in the beauty of the activity on the surface, not always recognizing the invisible, silent, essential build-up of strength that precedes it.

I turn to Mary Baker Eddy for a clear description of the metaphysics of this wave development. She wrote, "Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause, — wait on God. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and conception unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 323)

No matter what it looks like on the surface, something powerful is happening.

I have been a pusher all my life. But I love to think now of these strength-yielding pauses. I believe it is absolutely essential to allow oneself the mental space - white wall space - to pause, to be - to think and wonder and even squirm (!), - as one waits on the onward push of God, omniactive good.

Its not really a time thing. I have had pauses that last but a second before the next breakers of inspiration jettison me forward onto the shore of some new adventure or activity. Others have been long. Really long. What looked, up close, to be a two month pause a couple of years ago, was really the last momentum-gathering undertow at the end of a six year deep-think pause. But the force of that build-up has carried me through some of my most productive and interesting years yet.

Looking for a little Prayer MOJO today?

Respect the pause. Don't be too quick to judge yourself harshly or chalk up the quiet to laziness.
Recognize the force and momentum that a good pause can bring to your projects and to your prayers. Consider it refueling. It is OK to shut off the phone, click off the computer (even if it means missing my blog posts), and have a good think. Or stare at a white wall and see what is there to be seen.
Realize the power, but not the pause, lasts for ever. Value the experience of the pause, not as a means to a goal, but as a gift from God to be valued in its own right.

Psalms says the children of Israel "were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind." (107: 30,31 NIV) I think that points to the genius and joy in the calming pauses God gives in our journey of seeking and finding Him.

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Amy Duncan

6/20/2012 03:34:29 pm

Michelle, have you ever read Brenda Ueland's book, "If You Want to Write"? It brings out the ideas you're talking about here. It's about writing and creativity and I highly recommend it!

Michelle Nanouche

6/20/2012 03:46:23 pm

Ooooo thanks, Amy! I love writing books!

Michelle Nanouche

6/20/2012 03:55:53 pm

That is, books on writing... :)

Amy Duncan

6/20/2012 09:44:25 pm

This one is really special. :)

Michelle Nanouche

6/21/2012 01:50:08 am

Will check it out, for sure. Hopefully it's on Kindle.

Lindajane

6/20/2012 03:38:21 pm

Am in year three of my "pause and wait"--didn't realize that's what it was. Thanks for this perspective. Six years--wow! Yes, feeling lazy and purposeless and have had a few expletive-laced prayers. Visible signs of accomplishing something worthwhile gives one a sense of purpose. When that is not there, and you're used to the energy it has provided and sense of well-being and contribution, you feel bereft. Without compass almost. All the familiar signs and markers are gone. I read a book FINDING GOD IN WILDERNESS PLACES some comforting quotes: "

* "In the midst of God's seeming absence, He is really quite busy."

* "When we think our life is on a detour, it's really spiritual Main Street."

* "But with each dead end and each wrong turn, I'm learning to listen to God's Spirit whispering, "...let me drive. Just get a little rest."

Michelle Nanouche

6/20/2012 03:52:59 pm

Don't be intimidated by the six years. It is only in retrospect that I can see the general calm and "build-up" of that period. I didn't really notice the strong undertow until those two months. But in any case, I think we can be assured that it is not a trough, or down-time, or a mark of lack. Going deep is as valuable as going long! And deep pauses and waiting on God - even if they take a bit to recognize as a good thing - never fail to produce something invaluable.

I love what Gertrude Stein said. It really resonated with me. And I really love the quotes you found! So many writers, speakers, thinkers and doers are saying the same thing in different words!

Really tickled you wrote in, Lindajane!

Beca Lewis link

6/20/2012 07:57:29 pm

Michelle - this is so true - love what you have written about the "pause" of doing nothing, when actually there are powerful things going on. Thank you!

Michelle Nanouche

6/21/2012 01:46:33 am

You are welcome! And a head's up to readers to click on Beca's name and follow the link to see what she is up to.

Barbara link

6/20/2012 08:06:09 pm

Many saying same or similar things yes, grateful for the spiritual uptick....(perhaps improving perceptions?), but I am really enjoying your messages that speak to my heart Michelle. Love the blog. Love the picture! Love to think of the "joy in calming pauses God gives in our journey..." is where I find myself of late. Thank you!

Michelle Nanouche

6/21/2012 01:49:13 am

Thank you for that, Barbara. A lot of love is poured into this blog - not just by writers, but by readers as well. That is bound to raise the standard on helpful content.

And blog readers, if you click on Babrbara's name, you will see she is a blogger, too. I enjoyed your beautiful post today, Barbara, and loved the Christmas ball/vase idea!

Lindajane

6/20/2012 08:23:51 pm

Oh, that's a great concept that going deep is as valuable as going long.

I can picture that--it's the same distance but one is horizontal and one is vertical. I've been feeling I've been going nowhere. LOL. I think when you're going horizontally, towards a horizon, that progress is easy to measure. But going deep is unseen, it's underground and others can't see the distance you've gone. You look like you've stayed in the same place to the casual observer. And you can't measure the progress in terms of accomplishments or distance traveled. So, you feel stuck. Yes, that quote by O'Keefe is thought-provoking....loved this post.

Glad you didn't mind my post. Those quotes were from a book of full title called LEAVING EGYPT--FINDING GOD IN WILDERNESS PLACES--about how lots of times in our life we have to leave the familiar and often comfortable for the wilderness and we get a new life and new identity. And there's stages to this journey. Fairly non-denominational in approach as author is a counselor, too.

Michelle Nanouche

6/21/2012 01:45:20 am

Good points. We are often distracted by what things look like, and by what we think others might see. The journey is between the individual and God and spiritual development, the eternal story, can't be measured by time or human accomplishments. If earth is a "preparatory school" as Mary Baker Eddy once indicated, perhaps sometimes we need quiet to get our homework done!

Thanks for the further info on that book! Looks like a great, and helpful, read!

(I pulled the duplicate comments off. Looks like the blog was giving you a fit when you tried to post! Sorry about that.)

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