More from Fifty Prayers by Karl Barth.

Prayer number 39:

Dear heavenly Father, we thank you that today is Sunday. You now allow us to rest from our work, that you may be able to speak to us and rightly work in us. You have gathered us here through your living Word, our Lord, Jesus Christ. So remain with us and draw us in the Spirit to your Son, that he may draw us in that same Spirit to you.We cannot build ourselves into his community; only you can do that. To that end, hallow, enlighten and bless our human action, our praying and singing, our speaking and hearing. To that end, reign in our midst. Amen.

For several years I have attempted to "keep the Sabbath." This practice of intentional rest is considered unnecessary by many of my friends. For them, it is a discipline that belongs to the old law and has no place in the arena of Christian freedom.

Yet, Karl Barth has a different perspective. Barth sees rest (the cessation of work) as necessary if God is to speak to us and work in us. Just as physical rest is essential for maintaining physical health, the cessation of striving and accomplishing promotes our spiritual well-being. In our rest God speaks words of renewal, reflection, and refreshment to us.  It is in our stillness that we can hear what God has to say and the sanctifying work of the Spirit takes place. In our shared rest, times of Sunday worship, God builds us into a community, the church.