Category: Prayer

 

To embark on a sojourn of prayer is to follow God where ever He leads. Prayer is the deepest and highest work of the human spirit. As such, it is as Richard Foster speaks of it in his book The Celebration of Discipline, the “central avenue” through which God transforms us.

To follow God wherever He leads us is to know He desires to lead us deep into His heart. While God is Spirit, and as such has no physical heart, such an anthropomorphic way of thinking of Him is quite valid, for he has revealed His very image to us in the form of Jesus Christ – God made flesh.

Contemplative prayer or ‘centering’ prayer as it is often called, is not an intellectual endeavor. Instead, we seek to connect with God on a wholly spiritual level. To become still, as the psalmist says, and to know that He is God. In this manner of knowing we become aware of His presence in a very real way. We then become attentive to whatever He wants to reveal to us in our devoted time in prayer with Him.

By way of simple instruction, let me offer some simple steps to follow in order to engage the Divine Spirit of our Living God in such a form of quiet prayer:

• Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a sacred word that will function as your intention around which you seek to center your thoughts on God, and around which to listen to the Holy Spirit in whatever He wishes to reveal. Examples might be one of the following: faith, hope, love, joy, peace, rock, cross, mercy, compassion, grace It could be anything He reveals to you. When you hear from Him what the word is, you can be sure He wants to reveal something to you.
• Find a quiet place and comfortable posture which will help you relax and hear from God. You may even want to kneel or prostrate yourself before Him as an added intention of reverence. Remember, to worship God is an active verb, not just a passive thought of the heart and mind. Begin to quietly introduce your sacred word as you acknowledge God’s presence with you and His desire to work within you.
• Your thoughts may wander from time to time, this is completely natural to our humanity. When they do, simply speak your sacred word as a way of drawing you back to God as your central focus. Do not think of this as a quick or violent swing of your thoughts, but rather a gentle re-calling of your mind and centering on God.
• After a designated period (20 minutes is good but begin with less if you need to and work up to that) end your time of contemplative prayer with thoughts of thanksgiving for God’s divine presence with you. What a joy that the Creator of the Universe has opened His presence to you in such a real way; this is His great desire. He created you for fellowship with Him.

This form of prayer may be completely new to you. However, it is a very ancient form of prayer practiced by many of the great saints of the ages. Remember not to set any high expectations for yourself in your special time with God. He is the Master and He alone will deliver to you whatever He wants you to learn from such prayer. Your part is to simply ‘be’ in His presence and let Him lead as He will as you center yourself and your thoughts on Him.

“In a state of grace, the soul is like a well of limpid water, from which flow only streams of clearest crystal. Its works are pleasing both to God and man, rising from the River of Life, beside which it is rooted like a tree.”
St. Teresa of Avila

May the Lord add His blessing to these thoughts, offered here to His glory…

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

 

It’s usually not a good thing to constantly feel like a beginner. After all, who wants to be a beginner forever. That would be kind of like staying in Kindergarten forever. I want to always be going deeper into whatever I’m learning. But, there’s one subject of which I’ve figured out I will always be a beginner – prayer, and so will you. However, being a beginner at prayer is a good thing. Let me tell you why.

Admitting we’re always a beginner at prayer puts us in good company. I believe it was Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta who said, “I will forever be a novice, in the school of prayer.” In his book, Beginning To Pray, Archbishop Anthony Bloom, of blessed memory, speaks to the beginning of prayer as always beginning our relationship with God.

“We should rather think in terms of an increasing progression from depth to depth, from height to height, whichever formula you prefer, so that at every step we already possess something which is rich, which is deep, and yet always go on to longing for and moving towards something richer and deeper… God gives us so much, we are so rich intellectually and emotionally, our lives are so full that we imagine that there can be nothing more than this, that we have found fulfillment and wholeness, that we have reached the end of our search. But we must learn that there is always more.” (pages 39-40)

Sadly, many Christians see prayer as some mechanical thing to do, especially when they’re in need. They miss the whole point of prayer. God doesn’t need our prayers, nor does He care what words we use, if any (Though for our sake, our words are important). Real prayer is a privilege, not a “have to”. Real prayer is seeking union with God. As our creator, He knows us intimately. There’s nothing we could tell Him that He doesn’t already know, yet He invites us to come to Him in prayer. Why? Because He loves us and wants to transform us into His likeness in ever-increasing measure.

Won’t you join me in Kindergarten again? Let’s re-enroll in the school of prayer. Two textbooks you’ll want for this class are the Bible, and Beginning To Pray, which you can buy here. It’s a classic. I can’t stop reading it and I know you’ll find it captivating as well. In future posts I’ll be discussing some of the points made in the book in more detail. Until then, let us begin…

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

P.S. I’d be honored if you pre-order my newest book, A PRESENCE IN THE DARKNESS: Finding Hope in Death. It’s a book to help us deal with many difficult feelings about life and death we all have to work through. And, it’s 25% on orders through Nov. 30 and I’ll send you a signed copy when pre-ordered here. Orders will ship media mail on or about December 1, 2017. Thanks for reading!