In other words...

"We are urgent about the body; He is about the soul. We call for present comforts; He considers our everlasting rest. And therefore when He sends not the very things we ask, He hears us by sending greater than we can ask or think."~ Richard Cecil ~

When I read this quote, I immediately thought of a small book written by Charles E. Hummel quite some time ago: The Tyranny of the Urgent.

Hummel writes: "...we find ourselves working more and enjoying it less.We live in a constant tension between the urgent and the important. The problem is that the important task rarely must be done today, or even this week...A man's home is no longer his castle; it is no longer a place away from urgent tasks because the telephone breaches the walls with imperious demands. The momentary appeal of these tasks seems irrestible and important, and they devour our energy. But in light of time's perspective their deceptive prominence fades; with a sense of loss we recall the important tasks pushed aside. We realize we've become slaves to the tyranny of the urgent."

We live in a fast-paced, fast-food, 10-second soundbite, MTV generation. Even in prayer, we want answers, and we want them NOW!

I believe (and I'm preaching to myself now!) we have to make a conscious decision to slow the pace--to reclaim quietness and calm, to restore peace and tranquillity into our lives as much as possible.

When bringing our prayer requests to God, we need to remember what it means to "Wait on the Lord" (Psalm 27:14). Actually, I gave that reference of Psalm 27:14, but there are many passages in the Bible that admonish us to wait on the Lord, to rest patiently in Him. He must have realized we were going to need that admonition.

That's so hard to do, isn't it?

Lord, help me to remember, as Richard Cecil wrote, that when You send not the very things we ask, You hear us by sending greater than we can ask or think. What an awesome thought:

NOTE: When I read the quote by Richard Cecil, I didn't recognize the name, so thought I would do some online research. According to Wikipedia, Cecil was "a leading Evangelical Anglican clergyman of the 18th and 19th centuries."

Interestingly, Cecil was an associate of William Wilberforce, who is the subject of the new movie, Amazing Grace. Quoting from Wikipedia: "He was associated with the Clapham Sect whose best known member was William Wilberforce, and was a founding member and leader of the Eclectic Society, an evangelical Anglican society which was started along with John Newton and Henry Foster..."

Many thanks to Loni at Joy in the Morning for featuring a quote from this very interesting gentleman, and prompting me to learn something in the process.