Prayer of Rest

I have recently been dissecting Prayer by Richard Foster.  In his book, he writes about the many different forms of prayer, one being the Prayer of Rest.  The concept of the Prayer of Rest is so new and profound to me, I felt compelled to share. Here are excerpts from that reading.


"Through the Prayer of Rest God places His children in the eye of the storm.  When all around us is in chaos and confusion, deep within we know stability and serenity. In the midst of intense personal struggle we are still and relaxed. While a thousand frustrations seek to distract us, we remained focused and attentive. This is the fruit of the Prayer of Rest. "


"There is perhaps no more appealing invitation in all the Bible than Jesus' gracious words, 'Come to Me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.' (Matt. 11:28).  Nothing is more needed today than this rest of body, mind, and spirit.  We live so much of our lives in 'an intolerable scramble of panting feverishness,' as Thomas Kelly calls it. All of the grasping and grabbing, all the controlling, all of the manipulative dynamics of life exhaust us."


"If we ever want to know the degree to which we are enslaved by the passion to possess, all we have to do is observe the difficulty we have maintaining a Sabbath rhythm."

Three Ways to Enter Into The Prayer of Rest

Solitude.  "In experiences of solitude we gently press into the Holy of Holies, where we are sifted in the stillness.  Painfully, we let go of the vain images of ourselves in charge of everything and everybody.  Slowly, we loosen our grip on all those projects that seem to us so significant. Gently, we become more focused and simplified.  Joyfully, we receive the nourishment of heavenly manna."

Silencio.  "Silencio, or the stilling of what the old writers called 'creaturely activity.' This means not so much of a silence of words as a silence of our grasping, manipulative controls of people and situations.  It means standing firm against our codependency to control everyone and fix everything. 

This agitated creaturely activity often hinders the work of God in us. In silencio, therefore, we still every motion that is not rooted in God.  We become quiet, hushed, motionless, until we are finally centered.  We strip away all the excess baggage and non-essential trappings until we come into the stark reality of the Kingdom of God."

Recollection. Recollection means focus.  It means tranquility of mind, heart, and spirit.