Do you pray?

It’s a fairly simple question that often generates a complicated answer. “Well, sort of.” “I mean, I guess.“Sometimes.” Now, I get it. For many of us, our first reaction—if we’re not the praying type—is guilt.

What if the ability to achieve peace—to take heart—is actually accomplished through slowing down and being still? What if we became a community of people who—in a world addicted to noise and busyness—slowed down and learned silence and solitude? Not isolation. Not being alone while distracting ourselves. Rather, developing the ability to spend uninterrupted time, alone, in silence, with God in an effort to be transformed into people of peace?

In Luke 2, we read about a message that an angel brings to shepherds regarding the birth of a promised Savior. The angel declares, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10, NIV).