The Rector's Ramblings...June 4, 2009

From The Rev. Dr. Robert C. Sawyer 

There is a wonderful prayer found on page 832 of The Book of Common Prayer, which has its basis in one of the verses of Psalm 46.  The title of this prayer is "For Quiet Confidence" and it concludes with the words, "By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord."  We say this prayer from time to time at our Men's Bible Study on Wednesday mornings and many of us have found it to have deep meaning for our daily lives.

            I believe that this is a prayer that should be on the lips of each of us as part of our daily devotions.  In this hectic world in which we live there are times when we need to pull back and just experience the reality of God's love for us.  Each of us could probably say that there are places where we can truly live into the words of this prayer.  For me, being on the Outer Banks sitting on a dock at sunset is one of those places.  I can say that there are times at the beach that I have truly felt close to God, when I simply find myself sitting and glorying in the beauty of God's creation.  In moments like these I come to know that I am loved simply for who I am and that is a child of God.

            During the summer months, let the words of this prayer become a part of your daily devotions.  As you go off on you vacation times and travels I hope that each of you will find places this summer where you can just sit still and know the power of God's love for you.

May the words of this prayer also help to remind us that it does not matter what we do to earn a living, or how much money we have, or what other people think of us.  What really matters is the fact that God loves us with a love that is eternal.  And it is through this love that we can face all of life with a sense of quiet confidence.