In the book “7: An experimental Mutiny against excess”, the author takes 7 areas of her life; Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.”
Totally inspired, I decided to give “Seven sacred pauses” a whirl.
Out of the 7 I thought this one would be an awesome way to make me be more intentional about my day. And to be quite honest I cannot possibly imagine eating only 7 foods.
Here is how the seven sacred pauses works:
Each day 7 times a day there are distinctive things to enjoy, celebrate, and pray about. There are three psalms listed for every pause yet you only read one at a time.
Here are my notes for each prayer time:
1)Awakening hour: Thankfulness for a new day. As the sun rises so does his new grace and mercy. Today is a new day. This day is yours Jesus. As the sun rises may I remember I am a light for you.
Psalm 19,95,147
2)Blessing hour: Before the day gets away from us, invite the spirit in. Remember that my work is an opportunity to show love. We are carriers of the spirit of Christ and our work is sacred. No matter what you do, do it to the glory of God. (this one was huge for me)
Psalm 67,84,121
3)The Hour of Illumination: When the sun is brightest in the sky. We pray for light. Light piercing through the darkness of our hearts. Unforgivness, bitterness, fear, worry, and addiction. That light will bring joy to a dark world. (I also used this time to pray for friends.)
Psalm24,33,34
4)Wisdom hour: Mid afternoon, the time of day Christ died. We use this time to remember life is temporary. Perspective on the short fleeting day.
Psalm 71,90,138
5)Twilight hour: As the day is drawing to a close. Reflect on gratitude. What where your great blessings of the day? Psalm 34,139,145
6) The great silence: Before bed, when the day is getting quiet, reflect on strengths of the day. Remember we are loved sinners covered in grace. Look forward to tomorrows opportunity to walk in more obedience than today. Darkness; we pray for protection from the enemy and our innocence in Christ. We pray for our children sheltered under gods wings. Intervene for those suffering in darkness. Let go of the day and enter the great silence.
Psalm 23,91,134
7) The night watch: this pause is around midnight. This is the time we inteceed for others. This is a deep prayer for those suffering, abandoned, lonely, abused, or waiting in the ER. Intercession for those you know and or those you don’t.
7 daily, intentional pauses all with a beautiful purpose.
At first I thought I didn’t need a reminder and I would notice the time of day, and remember to pray….not a chance. It is amazing how quickly awakening hour turns into high noon! Yet another reason I was interested in this “exercise.” I can’t stand the idea of life getting away from me without putting purpose to my days.
Enter in, cell phone reminders! Thank you siri for you help on this. With each “chime” of my phone every few hours I was reminded of a sacred reason to PAUSE.
It is much harder than I thought to get ALL 7 pauses in every day. I find I do more some days than others. At the very least at each chime reminded me of the sacred time of day. And about that midnight prayer time? That is typcially right before I go to bed…not at midnight. (I never said I was perfect)
It’s amazing what happens when God’s people pray. I am loving this little experiment.
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