May 27 2021 Day 106 Ezra 1:1–3:13

{T]he LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia

King Cyrus of Persia has had his heart stirred up by the Spirit of God. Babylon, where the Israelis were exiled was in Persia. Cyrus was not a Hebrew, following some other religion. But God used this non-Hebrew in important ways, stirring in his heart the notion that the people should return to their homeland and to the Temple that meant so much to them.

The accompanying reflection focuses on the value of silence, perhaps because of God’s use of silence to actually stir our hearts. In my experience, this silent-inducing-stirring comes when least expected. Since Cyrus didn’t worship the one true God, I can imagine that a God-inspired stirring would be unexpected, and perhaps unwelcome.

In my world, I need more silence. I’m very inclined to fill silence with music, podcasts, videos. Even if they’re prayerful music, or prayer podcasts, the noise still drowns out the silence. And while I know I can use more silence, I also would argue that God can speak through intentional noise. For example, if I’m seeking God’s voice and listening to reflective, or Christian music, sometimes the right lyrics come on at precisely the right time. Maybe it’s not silence, but there is still room for God’s voice. The same goes for prayer podcasts. I have two I listen to in the mornings. The first is a oral version of the Morning Prayer I relished at my job, every morning starting the day with 15 minutes of prescribed prayers and readings. There are at least two great versions, the first is from the Episcopal Church in Garrett County (https://episcopalchurchingarrettcounty.podbean.com) and mirrors what I’m accustomed to. The second is from an Anglican Church and includes morning, noonday, and evening prayer. The prayers are a little different, and the readings are not the same but prayer is prayer. https://thetrinitymission.org After my prayer service, I listen to the Ignatian Pray as you Go, which includes scripture, reflective music, prayer prompts, repeat of the scripture and you’re done. https://pray-as-you-go.org

I mention all of this because I believe God can break through if we make an intentional space, whether it’s a silent place, music filled space, prayer filled space, although probably not binge watching video space. So I’ll correct what I said above. I don’t necessarily need more silence. What I need is to hold more space to listen to God, regardless of what else is going on in that space.

This morning, I’m thinking about how God can pop into the oddest circumstances, and in the hearts of the most unexpected people, including a Zoroastrian Persian King.