How an ADD Pastor Got Still Before the Lord

By Pastor Dick LaFountain

It’s not that I don’t like to pray, I do. I spend special time alone with God the first thing every morning. That has been my reverent routine for years. I lead prayer meetings. I teach on prayer. I  pray over people I have conversations with whether in my office, on the street or in the supermarket. So, I think I might qualify as a praying pastor.

Yet, in 1984 I realized something was missing. In my devotions I had been studying the prayer habits of Jesus. I realized I didn’t pray like Jesus. Far from it. My prayers were hurried affairs, usually about me, my family, my church, my friends, my ministry, my health and my needs.

Sure, I prayed for others, but that day I realized my prayers were 99.5% asking and very little basking. I was a list-er, but not a listener. I was a hurry-er, and a scurry-er, with no time to wait in His presence. I had my prayer lists and once they were done, so was I.

That morning in my private study I realized I didn’t really know how to pray like Jesus. I was always in a hurry to get my prayers over and get on to the real work.

That day I began to pray in earnest, “Lord, teach me to pray! Teach me to pray like Jesus.” As I mused on God’s word and whisper, I sensed God asking me, “Do you really want to learn to pray?” I responded, “Yes, Lord. I really want to learn to pray and to enjoy prayer.” He responded, “Here is your first and most important lesson. Learn it, then you can move on from there. BE STILL, AND KNOW I AM GOD.”

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That began a long difficult process of trying to be still. I’m hyperactive. I can’t be still. My mind is busy all the time, thinking of my to-do list, meetings, messages to prepare, people to meet, places to go. Telling me to be still is like saying, “Stop thinking!”

I won’t bore you with the details of my efforts to be still and to stop my racing thoughts. It wasn’t easy. It was next to impossible. In fact, after two weeks of pausing my prayer times to lay on the floor before the Lord trying to still my mind, I gave up. I told the Lord it was impossible for a hyperactive busy-minded person to be still. At that point I went downstairs to get a cup of coffee (right, like that will help slow you down!) As I went to the fridge to get cream, I saw my wife had a 3-minute sand timer refrigerator magnet.

I sensed the Lord say, “Do you think you could be still for three minutes?”

Three minutes? Why didn’t you say that before? Of course I can be still for three minutes.

I went back upstairs with renewed determination to be still for three minutes. I guzzled my coffee down and laid out on the floor with my sand timer to be still. NOT!! Three minutes felt like a half hour. I wiggled, scribbled my to-do list, then pushed it away, then thought of a few more things to add, and pushed it away again. When the last grain of sand trickled through the timer I breathed a sigh of relief. “There, I did it. Three minutes of stillness.” The Lord laughed and said, “No you didn’t. Try again.”

That began a two-week process of laying before God trying to still my mind. I would flip the timer at least six times each day, then give up till the next day. Finally, one day I flipped the timer and found myself lost in a sense of God’s awesome presence. I felt like Jesus was standing before me and I was at his feet in awe and worship.

Somewhere in that euphoria I peeked and saw the timer was empty. I went to flip it again, when I felt the Lord reach down, touch my shoulder and say, “That’s enough for today.” But I didn’t want to leave. This was the glorious presence of God. But Jesus said, “I’ll be here tomorrow and every day. Just seek ME with all your heart and you’ll find me.”

I don’t use the 3-minute timer much anymore, but when I find myself drifting back into my hurried asking patterns I pull it out to renew my discipline of silent stillness.

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For further reading on the subject of being still before the Lord, Dick’s book Time Alone with God is a great resource. You can purchase this and other books by Dick’s at his website prayertoday.org (which is loaded with downloadable prayer tips and guides). To bless Praying Pastor readers, the first 25 of you who email Dick at [email protected], mention Praying Pastor and ask for a free copy of Time Alone with God, Dick will mail this book to you free of charge (include your mailing address). (U.S only, international requests will receive PDFs of the book.)