# Spaciousness Day 7 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *Teach me, God to make room for you in all the events and affairs of my days. Then I shall find rest. Then I will be at peace with myself and with you. (Norman Shawchuck in A Guide To Prayer for All Who Seek God)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 18 #### The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress *To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:* *18 I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,* *my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,and I am saved from my enemies.4 The cords of death encompassed me;the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]* *5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me.6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;to my God I cried for help.From his temple he heard my voice,and my cry to him reached his ears.* *7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;the foundations also of the mountains trembledand quaked, because he was angry.8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[b]and devouring fire from his mouth;glowing coals flamed forth from him.9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.10 He rode on a cherub and flew;he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,thick clouds dark with water.12 Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.* *13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,and the Most High uttered his voice,hailstones and coals of fire.14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord,at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.16 He sent from on high, he took me;he drew me out of many waters.17 He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.* *18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,but the Lord was my support.19 He brought me out into a broad place;he rescued me, because he delighted in me.20 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.* *21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,and have not wickedly departed from my God.22 For all his rules[c] were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.23 I was blameless before him,and I kept myself from my guilt.24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.* *25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;26 with the purified you show yourself pure;and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.27 For you save a humble people,but the haughty eyes you bring down.28 For it is you who light my lamp;the Lord my God lightens my darkness.29 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.30 This God—his way is perfect;[d] the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.* *31 For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?—32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me,and my feet did not slip.* *37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,and did not turn back till they were consumed.* *38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.* *39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;you made those who rise against me sink under me.* *40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,[e]and those who hated me I destroyed.41 They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind;I cast them out like the mire of the streets.43 You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations;people whom I had not known served me.44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;foreigners came cringing to me.* *45 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.46 The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,and exalted be the God of my salvation—47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,48 who delivered me from my enemies;yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;you rescued me from the man of violence.49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.50 Great salvation he brings to his king,and shows steadfast love to his anointed,to David and his offspring forever.* #### Scripture for the Day: Psalm 37:1-11 *He Will Not Forsake His Saints[a] Of David. 37 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]4 Delight yourself in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart.5 Commit your way to the Lord;trust in him, and he will act.6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,and your justice as the noonday.7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.* #### Reading for Reflection: *“Think glorious thoughts of God—and serve Him with a quiet mind!” And it is surely a fact that the more glorious and more spacious our thoughts of Him are, the greater the quietude and confidence with which we do our detailed work will be. Not controversial thoughts, or narrow conventional thoughts, or dry academic thoughts, or anxious worried thoughts. All these bring contraction instead of expansion to our souls; and we all know that this inner sense of contraction or expansion is the unfailing test of our spiritual state. (The House of the Soul and Concerning the Inner Life by Evelyn Underhill)* *Our journey toward abundant living is like walking a spiritual labyrinth repeatedly, from and ever deepening inner space. We walk toward the center to be transformed by God’s love; then we walk outward to transform our small space in the world by reflecting God’s love. There is no intention to trick us or get us lost along the journey. But there is mystery. Always mystery. And awe. And amazing grace. (Abundance by Marilyn Brown Oden)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us *How deep the Father's love for us* *How vast beyond all measure* *That He would give His only Son* *To make a wretch His treasure* *How great the pain of searing loss* *The Father turns His face away* *As wounds which mar the chosen One* *Bring many sons to glory* *Behold the Man upon a cross* *My guilt upon His shoulders* *Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice* *Call out among the scoffers* *It was my sin that held Him there* *Until it was accomplished* *His dying breath has brought me life* *I know that it is finished* *I will not boast in anything* *No gifts, no power, no wisdom* *But I will boast in Jesus Christ* *His death and resurrection* *Why should I gain from His reward?* *I cannot give an answer* *But this I know with all my heart* *His wounds have paid my ransom* ### Closing Prayer: *O Lord, the house of my soul is too small for you to enter: make it more spacious by your coming.*