Prayer: Navigating the Tempest of Busyness with Nouwen

Last updated on: April 21, 2024 at 11:20 pm by Jeff McLain

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Prayer: Navigating the Tempest of Busyness with Nouwen 2024-04-21T23:20:01-04:00 Jeff McLain

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Photo by Al Elmes on Unsplash. Prayer: Navigating the Tempest of Busyness with Henri J.M. Nouwen.

After rereading Here and Now by Henri J.M. Nouwen, I was reminded how much prayer can become a tool to navigate the tempest of busyness. In busyness we lose our soul, in busyness we are robbed of joy, and in busyness we fail to celebrate in gratitude – we can only lament which we do not yet have or have not yet taken. I found myself reflecting that there was a time that when someone used to ask us how we were doing, we would almost always respond with good and hopefully, they would leave it at that. However, as of late, I have increasingly noticed people answering this question with not a statement of being good, but rather a confession of being busy, or some confession of being both good and busy. Truly we have become busy people, perhaps busier than any other generation, at least busy in ways that are completely different than any generation before.

It is in the busyness of life that we find ourselves tired, weighed down, and distracted. Busyness has a way of keeping us distracted from who we truly are, blinded to what is truly going on in us, and even unaware of the ways God is prompting us in the present. In its own way, if we let it, busyness will become who we are, it will overtake and replace our identity.

I believe that busyness is one of the greatest tactics of evil to keep us from hearing the still small voice of God. It is busyness that keeps us tired, weighted down, and distracted. One of my favorite authors, Andrew Murray, is quoted as saying “We are far more occupied with our work than we are with prayer. We believe more in speaking to men than we believe in speaking to God.” Busyness keeps us occupied with our work and each other, distracted away from the ways, whispers, works, and words of God. Busyness keeps us too distracted and tired to realize the ways brokenness is at play in and through our lives.

The Whisper of God: Navigating Inner Solitude

In Here and Now, Nouwen addresses the spiritual journey and the distractions of busyness. In his reflections, Nouwen illuminates the subtle workings of the Spirit of God within individuals, workings that are often overshadowed by the busyness and distractions of life. Nouwen emphasizes the necessity of inner solitude and silence to discern the promptings of God the Father. When we can hear and obediently follow the promptings of God, our paths inherently diverge away from the evil personal desires we are unconsciously and consciously lured into in our busyness. Nouwen advocates for practicing spiritual disciplines and maintaining our focus amidst the barrage of societal pressures and distractions. It is only by fostering a disciplined prayer life that we will effectively keep God at the center of our lives in the here and now. Nouwen critiques the inundation of media messages and urges discernment in what one allows into their mind in the busyness and navigation of life’s distractions.

Nouwen suggests that we can become so busy running our own lives, that we become oblivious to the gentle movements of the Spirit of God within us, which is different than the inherent and natural ways and direction we would go ourselves (Nouwen 1997, 46). He goes on to say, “It requires a lot of inner solitude and silence to become aware of these divine movements. God does not shout, scream, or push. The Spirit of God is soft and gentle like a small voice or a light breeze. It is the Spirit of love” (Nouwen 1997, 46). Yet, in the busyness of life we can hear that small voice or light breeze too little.

In the busyness of life, Nouwen reminds us that we become so distracted and divorced from awareness and reality, that “we ourselves do not even know what our deepest desire is” (Nouwen 1997, 53). It is in the throes of life that “we so easily get entangled in our own lust and anger, mistakenly assuming that they tell us what we really want” (Nouwen 1997, 53). However, if we get away, and if we focus on hearing the still small voice of God, the Spirit of God whispers, “Don’t be afraid to let go of your need to control your own life. Let me fulfill the true desire of your heart” (Nouwen 1997, 53). I think that the Spirit of God extends that same invitation today, to a people that are good and busy, and the challenge to let go of the need to control our life speaks to us in our context and busyness as it has never spoken before. As Jesus said, it is by looking to save our lives that we end up losing them (Matthew 16:25).

Reclaiming Identity: Resisting Societal Pressures

Far too often we are driven into busyness because we think of ourselves as “the sum total of our successes, popularity, and power” (Nouwen 1997, 62). As a result of seeing ourselves as the total of these experiences and achievements, Henri Nouwen points out that “we become dependent on the ways we judge and are being judged and end up as victims manipulated by the world” (Nouwen 1997, 62). We are especially dependent on the ways we judge fruitfulness and success, and the way others judge those realities in our lives. The lure of success, popularity, and power will continue to define our lives in unhealthy ways and lure us away from God’s best if we do not intentionally develop a different way in our lives. This spiritual journey we are on is not defined by busyness but stillness, by prayer and listening. Nouwen shares that “without a clear goal, we will always be distracted and spend our energy on secondary things’ (Nouwen 1997, 62). It is in prayer we know our goals, and it is in adherence to those goals that we stay focused and not overtaken by the lures and temptations of the busyness to experience and achieve. Prayer is key to learning what it means to not be distracted by busyness, because it is “by the discipline of prayer [that we] bring God back again and again to the center of our life” (Nouwen 1997, 18).

Prayer is also important to us because it creates awareness in us. Both life and evil long to bombard us with distractions and temptations. There is a prophetic reflection in Here and Now from Nouwen that charges us to see how “each day our society bombards us with a myriad of images and sounds…The words yell and scream at us: “Eat me, drink me, buy me, hire me, look at me, talk with me, sleep with me” (Nouwen 1997, 70-71). Without a doubt, we cannot go far in life “without being engulfed by words and images intruding themselves into our minds” (Nouwen 1997, 70-71). Nouwen suggests that without prayer, and without intentionality to live differently, busyness makes our mind nothing but a collection of evil and a garbage can of the world. Yet, he asks, “But do we really want our mind to become the garbage can of the world? Do we want our minds to be filled with things that confuse us, excite us, depress us, arouse us, repulse us, or attract us whether we think it is good for us or not? Do we want to let others decide what enters into our mind and determines our thoughts and feelings?” (Nouwen 1997, 70-71). If we allow that which confuses, excites, depresses, arouses, repulses, and attracts us to decide what is good for us and not then we will do nothing but find ourselves farther into the throes of busyness, pursuing that which we desire and running from or fighting against that which we despise.

Prayer as Liberation: Cultivating Stillness in a Noisy World

Henri J.M. Nouwen’s profound insights beckon us to pause and reflect on the relentless grip of busyness. Through his timeless wisdom, we are reminded of the subtle yet profound workings of the Spirit of God within us, often obscured by the noise of our daily lives. There is a way of living that resists the seductive allure of worldly success and instead embraces the stillness where God’s voice gently whispers. It is within this sacred space of prayer that we reclaim our true identity, untethered from the relentless demands of busyness and attuned to God’s still, small voice as it guides our path. As we navigate the chorus of distractions that compete and clamor for our attention, let us heed Nouwen’s call to cultivate a disciplined prayer life, safeguarding our minds from becoming mere receptacles of societal pressures and fleeting desires. In relinquishing our need for control and surrendering to the presence of God in our times of prayer, we discover a profound sense of liberation, no longer enslaved by the frenetic pace of busyness but anchored in the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Prayer is key to learning what it means to not be distracted by busyness, because it is “by the discipline of prayer [that we] bring God back again and again to the center of our life” (Nouwen 1997, 18).

I invite you to read my review of Here and Now by Henri Nouwen and review my favorite highlights and quotes from this book.

Contemplative

Home and Religion

History and Religion

Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People

gratitude

Joy

Soul

About Jeff McLain

Through Lead a Quiet Life, Jeff McLain explores his pursuit of simplicity in a tumultuous world as he serves as the Director of Pastoral Ministries at Water Street Mission and as pastor at River Corner Church. Jeff's commitment to Jesus has been shaped by an unconventional journey from activism to hitchhiking, which is reflected in his academic pursuits and throughout his involvement with various initiatives. Residing in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Jeff, along with his wife and three daughters, embraces family moments outdoors, while his love for baseball, boardwalks, beaches, and books adds depth to his vibrant life. You can read more about the author here.

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