From the book ‘The Power of Stillness:’
Elder D. Todd Christofferson wrote about being impressed by a comment from Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican archbishop in South Africa, after he was asked the question: “Have you found that your relationship to God has changed as you have grown older?” Bishop Tutu responded, “Yes, I am learning to shut up more in the presence of God.” He recalled that when he was younger, he prayed with what he called “a kind of shopping list.” But now, he said, “I think [I am] trying to grow in just being there. Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter, you are just there in front of the fire, and you don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.”
Referring to Desmond Tutu’s comment, Elder Christofferson noted, “I think that is a lovely metaphor—just sit with the Lord and let Him warm you like a fire in winter. . . . let the moment be one of rest and refreshing and renewal”—with a hope that people might have “some sense of the beloved status you occupy as [the Lord’s] son or daughter. I hope you will take time . . . to sit for a few quiet moments and let the Savior’s Spirit warm you and reassure you of the worthiness of your service, of your offering, of your life.”11
. . . .Our prayers can be this intimate. This nourishing. This meaningful. And they can happen in the middle of real life. One young mother shared with us her experience of being home alone one day with a house full of small children, standing in the kitchen while her kids were “going crazy,” running around, noisily fighting. The sink was full of dishes, the kids were hungry, and she was exhausted. Feeling overwhelmed and alone, she knelt down on the ground, right in the middle of the kitchen mess, and prayed. Not a grocery list prayer of requests, just a “will you sit with me for a second because I’m losing it here” prayer. That moment of stillness, of reconnection with a loving presence, didn’t include a lot of words, but it was a tender acknowledgment of both the chaos and Him. After this brief “prayer hug” she took a deep breath and resumed making lunch, feeling a little more stilled and centered. She quite literally fed her hungry sheep after being fed by Him. ~Jacob Z. Hess, Carrie L. Skarda, Kyle D. Anderson, Ty R. Mansfield, The Power of Stillness (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), 46-48
