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Slow Me Down, Lord

"Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he [Jesus] said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'"¹

Or as someone else has said, "Come apart and rest a while before you come apart!"

I remember years ago having the following saying on a card on my desk, "Beware of the barrenness of a busy life!" I think in our day and age so many of us struggle with being too busy. I certainly do. It is a constant battle.

Today's suggested prayer is in the words of Orin L. Crain:

     Slow me down, Lord.
     Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
     Steady my hurried pace.
     Give me, amidst the day's confusion
     the calmness of the everlasting hills.

     Break the tension of my nerves and muscles
     with the soothing music of singing streams
     that live in my memory.

     Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.
     Teach me the art of taking minute vacations....
     slowing down to look at a flower,
     to chat with a friend,
     to read a few lines from a good book.

     Remind me
     of the fable of the hare and the tortoise;
     that the race is not always to the swift;
     that there is more to life than measuring its speed.
     Let me look up at the branches of the towering oak
     and know that ... it grew slowly ... and well.

     Inspire me
     to send my own roots down deep...
     into the soil of life's endearing values...

     That I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.

     Slow me down, Lord.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Mark 6:31 (NIV).

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