Yesterday morning I sent a sentence from the Bible to a friend.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,  O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

It’s from Psalm 19. a prayer that David wrote out. I sent it to someone who was speaking somewhere yesterday. Then I thought, “I need to keep that in mind.”

So I tried.

It was challenging. There were moments in the day that went crazy. Several people asking questions, each before the previous question was answered or problem was solved. There were moments when I started to feel a bit cranky, a bit defensive. There were moments when I started wondering about the projects I wasn’t getting done, or the value of the ones I was working on. There was a stretch where nothing was working on one of the extra projects that had been added to my day.

But I kept coming back to that sentence, saying it out loud, considering it in my heart.

• Sometimes, I was looking for affirmation from God, the way I show a boss how I’m doing a project: “Would you let me know if this is going the way you want?”
• Sometimes, I was wanting to get thoughts and words because, following a short sleep the previous night, my capacity to meditate (to reflect and ponder and consider and chew) was negligible.
• Sometimes, I was making an offering, kind of like writing a poem or a post and giving it with a “here’s what I’m thinking. I hope you like it.”

As I neared the end of the day, with only a bit more writing and teaching to do, I realized that I had spent much time in conscious conversation with God.

I think the prayer was answered.

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For more on reflective scripture reading and prayer, see “the heart of lectio divina.“