The Quiet "Yes"

Sit. Hands open. Eyes closed.

Take three slow breaths. Each exhale, a little longer than the inhale.

Now — for a few moments — just listen. Not to the world. To whatever is underneath the world. To the small, still voice that has been there all along, underneath the noise.

Samuel's answer is one of the most beautiful in all of scripture. Speak, for your servant is listening. He does not say: tell me what to do. He does not say: solve my problem. He says: I am here. I am listening. Use me.

That posture — open, listening, available — is the whole practice. You don't have to hear anything specific. You don't have to figure it out. You just have to be in the posture.

What if today, every time you pause, you say that small sentence? Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Let it become a refrain. A breathing prayer.

Stay a few more minutes. Whatever you hear — a word, an image, a quiet — let it land softly.