Abiding Prayer: a Posture of Simply Being with God | Doug Gamble

Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/abiding-prayer/  This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org Check out other great articles on RENEW.org here: https://renew.org/articles/ Author’s note: This is my fifth article dealing with pastoral burnout. Recent Barna research revealed that 33% of ministers had given serious thought to quitting.[1] My own research for a graduate studies project showed 63% of those surveyed had given or were giving serious thought to quitting the ministry. Previous articles provide an overview to challenges ministers face and how key regular rhythms of renewal like silence and solitude and community can create resiliency. After being married for 31 years, I’ve realized something. (Yes, I’m a slow learner.) It’s this: I like simply being in my wife’s presence. When I was younger, I would see older couples eating at a restaurant or sitting on a park bench and they would just…be sitting there. Yes, in the restaurant they would be eating, but often they would not be talking. They would just be eating in one another’s presence. Or on the park bench, they would just be sitting there in one another’s presence and not be doing…anything. I understand it now. Sometimes I just want to be near my wife. We don’t have to talk or do anything for me to feel content in that moment. This is how I am coming to understand prayer. In my research on pastoral burnout, I saw this interesting dynamic at play. 73% of ministers were satisfied or very satisfied with their walk with God. 100% were engaging with God nearly every day. 73% of those surveyed had been serving in ministry for over 10 years. Yet 68% had given serious consideration to quitting ministry within the last 5 years. Listen for more... Join RENEW.org's Newsletter: https://renew.org/resources/newsletter-sign-up/ Join RENEW.org at one of our upcoming events: https://renew.org/resources/events/ Get our Premium podcast feed featuring all the breakout sessions from the RENEW gathering early.  https://reallifetheologypodcast.supercast.com/  Be sure to like, subscribe and follow on social media!  You can find us on: Instagram: @the.renew.network  Facebook: Renew.org  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RENEWnetwork Twitter: @therenewnetwork TikTok: the.renew.network  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RENEW