Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“ ‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”

Revelation 4:8

When I was 11 years old, my Sunday school teacher read this verse to our class. It was terrible news. I quickly raised my hand and said,

"I thought heaven was supposed to be fun? Are you telling me we stand there all day and repeat the same line over and over again? That sounds boring!"  

Years later, I met with a college professor and unsuspecting mentor who challenged me to sit still for 15 minutes. "Just listen." He said. "It's called centering prayer. There's nothing specific to pray, nothing to say, just focus on your breathing and listen."

I raised my hand. "That sounds boring!" But I humored this man and went out to a nearby park, sat down on a bench, and listened. At first I thought about the lack of money in my bank account, the work that still needed to be done at work, the fact that my shirt was really wrinkled, and then I focused on breathing and listened.

And here's what I heard, I heard those creatures saying the same thing over and over again.

“ ‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”

I focused on their eyes. What were they seeing? Was it possible that what they saw God doing was so incredible, so unimaginable, so beyond our ability to comprehend, so infinite, that perhaps the only thing those creatures could utter was, "Holy, Holy, Holy."

I'm looking forward to Heaven.

Today I invite you to Centering Prayer. Today I invite you to listen. I pray that in the midst of life that you're able to see God at work and that you can say, "Holy, Holy, Holy."

Centering Prayer II