"But I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me."
Psalm 131:2
Everyone has a new method for meaningful prayer. Currently, I'm reading another book on prayer that outlines how to pray for one hour consistently. It's compelling and well-founded, and I'm enjoying it immensely.
The last pastor I worked for recommended the ACTS method. Spend time each day in Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication which spells ACTS. This too is effective prayer outline. It hits on all the major points and is easy to remember.
Personally, my prayer habit uses the Lord's Prayer. Every morning I spend time with the Lord using the model prayer Jesus recommended to His disciples. Hard to improve upon when you consider Who recommended this form of prayer. By the time I work my way through all twelve elements, I'm so centered in God. I typically walked away into the day so satisfied in Him that my "list" of wants and wishes doesn't even matter anymore. Do I still pray for others? Certainly. Do I still have needs I mention to Him? Often. But by and large the sections of the Lord's Prayer are so faith affirming, I just trust Him to take care of me.
There are many methods to prayer, and my hope is that they each lead to deep soul satisfaction and trust in the Lord. Prayer is, after all, a dialogue with the Lover of your soul, your Creator, your Father. Francois Fenelon said, "True prayer is just another name for the Love of God" - love both for Him and received from Him.
People often ask me what they can pray about for me, and I'm embarrassed at how long it takes me to think of something. What could I possibly need when I have Him and His attention daily. Effective prayer lends itself to this kind of satisfied soul. Maybe this what the Psalmist was experiencing here in Psalm 131:2 when he speaks of being like a weaned child with its mother.
A child before it's weaned needs everything from the mother. Breastfeeding provides connection, sustenance, nutrients, affection, defenses and those things come so naturally and are exchanged nearly effortlessly. Nearly. Even at that, if there is an effort, it's on the part of the mother to produce and to find a way to help the little one latch on.
As a side note: this is why I love the name of the Lord El Shaddai. We've simplified it to mean "The all-sufficient one". More literally, He is the "All-breasted One" lending to the picture of a mother and child. Everything the child needs is found in that breast-feeding exchange - antibodies for defense, nourishment, emotional attachment, security. Everything the child needs is found at the breast of the mother. So it is with God. We find all of those things in our intimacy with Him.What does a weaned child need? Not nearly as much. They just want to be with Mom. They've been fed, moved on from the milk to ore solid food. Being together is now an exchange of affection and connection.
A calmed and quieted soul is like a weaned child with its mother. No desperation for sustenance. No frantic, tearful, "give me what I need". Just connection and love. Maybe this is what 1Peter 2 was talking about - "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation - if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."
What satisfies our soul is growing up in the Lord. Becoming spiritually mature. Learning to take in solid, spiritual food. Taking time to not be spoon-fed spiritual truth. Taking the Bible in hand and learning how to study for ourselves and nourish ourselves in the things of God. Hebrews 5 says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature..."
When I consider what it must look like to be settled, not needing anything in the presence of God, but just coming to Him for connection and love, an old song comes to mind. I was raised on Gospel music, and I love it to this day... especially when someone takes an oldie and makes it new again. This oldie remade by Sheri Easter sums up the Satisfied Faith so well. May it calm and quiet your soul.