Making Room (Detachment) Prayer Activity
by Gabe Dodd
What for?
To make room for God to call you, or to use you in unexpected ways.
What do you need?
- Time to focus and reflect.
How do you do it?
- Take some time to reflect on what type of things you might be attached to. After a few minutes with each question, move on to the next question. Are you attached to material things? Are you attached to particular people? Are you attached to your own authority and leadership style? Are you attached to your memories and experiences? Are you attached to your club, sport, school, or other activities? Are you attached to technology or social media? Are you attached to being busy?
- Take a few minutes to reflect on how your attachments effect your relationship with God. Are there particular things in your life that keep you from noticing God? Are their things in your daily routine that prevent you from spending time with God? Where is God when you are spending time and energy on the things above?
- Finally, take some time to ask God how you can let go of some things in your life. Pray something like this: “God, I want to know you more and more. Today I think about the things in my life and my daily activities that keep me from spending time with you…Help me to not make excuses. I want to make room for you in my life. Help me notice the things I need to let go of in order to be closer to you….(listen for God). Help me to release my grip on those things so I can let you enter my life…(listen for God). God, you are good, and your love is with me always. Amen.
More info:
I get it. Life is busy – and it aint slowing down anytime soon. There is so much ‘stuff’ in our life that is competing for our attention. Sports, scouts, yearbook club, jobs, friends, family, video games, are all demanding our time. On top of all that, church wants you to be more present. How in the world are we supposed to prioritize a youth or young adult activity at church, if we are not allowed to skip track practice? It’s not hard to fill our lives full of ‘stuff.’ Not all that ‘stuff’ is bad. I just wonder how God views our ‘stuff’.
The prayer of ‘making room’ is one that people of all ages benefit. It helps us examine our lives, and make decisions with God about what is important. The good thing is that we do not need to know what God will do with the extra room we are making in our lives. It is a joy that God knows us well, and wants us to live extraordinary lives.
Remember that the idea of this prayer is to let go – not to re-prioritize. The hard part is to resist the urge to fill our empty time with more ‘stuff.’ It may seem natural to always be doing something, or to make every day as productive as possible. What if we missed out on God if we filled out life with different ‘stuff’? What if we could use our empty space as a way of asking God to be our partner in life? The prayer of ‘making room’ is all about getting closer to God – and inviting God to be a part of your life by our action of letting go.
