Opening up my Twitter feed first thing in the morning is never a good idea. Especially after being awake a couple hours in the middle of the night thinking about things to do and circumstances in my life. 

News from around the world and nearby, personal responsibilities, family crises- a multitude of things clammer for our attention, our concern, our action. Many of them are important, most are not. How do we know the difference? How do we stop the turmoil and worry from robbing us of health and peace?

King David prays in Psalm 27:4-5

I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: 

To live with him in his house my whole life long. 

I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet.

That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world,

The perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.

David balanced the demands of being king. Wars, conflict within and outside his home, sleepless nights, inner turmoil, everything that must have swirled around him. He prayed for one thing…to live with God in His house, David’s whole life long. David resided in his own palace, but he dwelled, or abided in God’s Presence throughout his day. God was on his mind, in his thoughts, in his prayers throughout busy and concerning days.

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) also woke to circumstances concerning him. One of his prayers sounds a lot like King David’s and one I need today.

O God, You who are the truth, 

Make me one with You in love everlasting. 

I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, 

But in You is all that I long for. 

Let the learned be still, 

Let all creatures be silent before You; 

You alone speak to me.

-The Imitation of Christ

These prayers remind me of Jesus’ words, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.” -John 15:5

In the middle of the night, when worries press in, try repeating these prayers of King David or Thomas a Kempis.