Sojourner's Prayer Practices

Exploring Your Prayer Life

2010-03-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

Take some time to reflect on your prayer life.

EXPLORE YOUR PRAYER LIFE by finishing the following sentences.

• The last time I prayed was …

• The place most helpful for prayer is …

• The time I find best for prayer is …

• A method of prayer that seems good fro me now is …

• I use Scripture in my prayer by …

• Sometimes during prayer I …

• When I pray God …

• I talk about my prayer with …

• My prayer influences my life by …

• I pray with …

• My favorite name for God is …

• When I pray I sometimes feel …

• My prayer leads me to …

• Being a part of church influences my prayer by …

• Things I notice about my prayer …

• What I want to say to God now is …

• Things I wish someone had told me about prayer …

Which were the three most significant questions for you personally right now in your life? Why do you think that might be?

The Lord's Prayer

2010-03-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

Luke 11:1-2
1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
2He said to them, "When you pray, say"

Try starting every day praying through the Lord’s Prayer.
o Our Father who is Heaven: Recognize God’s presence with you now and reflect on the day before where you noticed His presence.
o Hallowed be your name: Spend time worshiping, thanking, and treasuring God.
o Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: Pray for God’s love and will to happen in your life, your family, your neighbors, our church, and our world.
o Give us today our daily bread: Tell God all your worries and concerns, your wants and needs, and your hopes and dreams. Ask for his resources and supplies.
o Forgive us as we forgive others: Confess. Name your sins and be honest about your anger or hurt as a result of others. Seek God’s strength and power to forgive those you find it difficult to forgive.
o Lead us not into temptation: In humility seek God’s rescue, His grace, and His mercy, so that you can recognize his consolation when it comes.

Preparing for Lent

2009-02-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

Henri Nouwen
How often have I lived through these weeks without paying much attention to penance, fasting, and prayer? How often have I missed the spiritual fruits of the season without even being aware of it? But how can I ever really celebrate Easter without observing Lent? How can I rejoice fully in your Resurrection when I have avoided participating in your death? Yes, Lord, I have to die—with you, through you, and in you—and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your Resurrection. There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess.... I see clearly now how little I have died with you, really gone your way and been faithful to it. O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again. Amen.

Lent starts this Wed or you may start on Sunday. Lent is a 40-day journey with Christ. The point is that we enter into Christ’s experience of self-denial leading up to the ultimate sacrifice, His life. Begin this week by seeking opportunities to commune with Jesus more often. One way for us to deepen our understanding of how Jesus denied Himself and embraced suffering and death for you, try practicing some sort of fast. Think of something that you may fast from and replace that with spending time with Jesus.
Try fasting from:
• Morning coffee
• Daily sodas
• Evening TV
• Media
• Sports
• The computer
• Stereo in your car
• A meal

As you take away these things replace them with God. When it’s difficult share your feeling with Jesus in prayer and journaling. What is Jesus saying to you during this time?

Take the next few days or week in prayer to discern what you may fast from. The point is not what you will no longer have but the feasting with Jesus you now have time for.

The Jesus Prayer - "The Prayer of the Heart"

2009-02-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Pray without ceasing”

The Jesus Prayer is what some might call a mantra. This prayer pulls us away from intellectualizing our problems and viewing God as one of those problems to be solved. You spend time saying this prayer in a rhythm and say ti when you remember: While driving, waiting in a line. After you do this for a week or longer you find that it begins to recite itself in your heart. It's a discipline that begins to train your heart so that you can begin to pray without ceasing. It's a way to practice being in the presence of God always. There are some great short resources that can be found at the bottom of this post.

How?
Recite this slowly and over and over for a set time and when ever you have free time.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Why?
• Biblical origins: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me" (Luke 18:38); the ten lepers who "called to him, Jesus, Master, take pity on us' " (Luke 17:13); and the cry for mercy of the publican, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:14).
Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks Matthew 15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' Matthew 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Matthew 23:26: Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

The Prayer of the heart is a prayer that does not allow us to limit our relationship with God to interesting words or pious emotions. By its very nature such prayer transforms our whole being into Christ precisely because it opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of ourselves as well as to the truth of God.
The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen

What? (What are the fruits of the prayer)
"When I prayed in my heart, everything around me seemed delightful and marvelous. The trees, the grass, the birds, the air, the light seemed to be telling me that they existed for man's sake, that they witnessed to the love of God for man, that all things prayed to God and sang his praise."

"Again I started off on my wanderings. But now I did not walk along as before, filled with care. The invocation of the Name of Jesus gladdened my way. Everybody was kind to me. If anyone harms me I have only to think, 'How sweet is the Prayer of Jesus!' and the injury and the anger alike pass away and I forget it all."
- The Way of the Pilgrim, Unknown Russian Peasant

Bibliography and Suggested Reading

The Way of the Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way translated by Helen Bacovcin

The Way of the Heart by Henri J. Nouwen

Practicing His Presence or The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Ignation Scripture Meditation

2009-02-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

WHY MEDITATE ON SCRIPTURE?

Meditation helps us to become “careful to do everything written in the Word” (Joshua 1:8).
It is mentioned more than 15 times in the Psalms.
It’s a spiritual discipline, which is: practicing how to become attentive to that small voice and willing to respond when we hear it.

Psalm 48:9
Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.

Psalm 143:5
I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.

Psalm 145:5
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

Psalm 119:9-16 (The Message)
How can a young person live a clean life?
By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I'm single-minded in pursuit of you;
don't let me miss the road signs you've posted.
I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart
so I won't sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
train me in your ways of wise living.
I'll transfer to my lips
all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
I attentively watch how you've done it.
I relish everything you've told me of life,
I won't forget a word of it

How is meditation on Scripture different from study of Scripture?

IN THE “STUDY METHOD YOU…
• Dissect the text
• Ask questions about the text
• Read and compare facts
and new ways of applying the facts

IN MEDITATION METHOD, YOU…
• Hear the text and enter into it
• Let the text ask questions of you
• Read to let God speak to you

HOW DO WE DO THIS
• Pick a small passage from the scriptures. Jesus' parables work best for this method. (You can use the parable of The Lost Sheep at the end.)
• Be a “fly on the wall”: If you had been present, what sights, sounds, tastes, smells and textures would you have experienced?
• Let God put you in the passage, perhaps becoming the person Jesus is speaking to. Let Jesus look you in the eyes, sitting face to face, and speak to you. What do sense as Jesus speaks to you? What facial expressions do you notice?
• Use your imagination, but still be WORD-centered
• Approach Scripture in non-controlling manner: Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
– James 1:21

Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:1-7)
***Taken from Jan Johnson’s Seminar

Longing - What do you want from God?

2009-01-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

One question I wrestled with was, "What one thing do I want from God?" I continue to go back to God with this question.
Spend this week meditating on Psalm 42 as you meditate on this passage as yourself, "What do I want from God?" There are some more reflection questions below that you might find helpful. I have found that God is there in my own longing. God and His Spirit must have initiated my own longing for Him. If you find yourself wanting or longing for God, try and discern his presence in the midst.

Psalm 42
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"
10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

If you want to identify me,
" Ask me not where I live
Or what I like to eat,
Or how I comb my hair
But ask me what I am living for,
In detail and ask me
What I think is keeping me
From living fully for the thing
I want to live for"

Thomas Merton, My argument with the Gestapo

Suggested Questions for Reflection
• What are you longing for in your relationship with God?
• Where are you experiencing God in your life right now?
• What is at the root of your most deepest and persistent longing?
• Who are you longing to be?
• Where are you not living out of your true identity in Christ?

Prayer of Recollection

2009-01-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

The prayer of recollection is a prayer to separate one from their own strength and cling to the robe of God. The prayer opens one's soul and prepares one to meet God in truth and to be open to the false-self and personal Idolatry in the presence of God’s love.

Psalm 131:2
But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Psalm 116:7
Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

John 17:22,23,26
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Prayer of Recollection

Adapted from John H. Coe

I. I affirm that I am a finite physical body.
My body is right here. It can't be anywhere else. {I reflect on how my body is feeling at the moment, e.g., tired, sore, full, hungry, or whatever.} My body is limited. It needs rest and care. I can only do so many tasks at once. I cannot meet everyone's wishes. I cannot meet even my own ambitions and desires. I am grateful for the fact that I am not God. Only God can meet all the needs that surround me.
(Confess any idolatry.)

II. I affirm that I am a finite spirit.
A. Disregard all the potential idols of your soul.
I confess my idolatries and false identities. I expose and invalidate all the ways I have tried to find my identity in the wrong way or have tried to find my value in my roles and functions and abilities. I affirm that I am not defined by my abilities, my virtues, or my vices. At my deepest place, I am not my behaviors, my feelings, my personality quirks, my gifts and talents, my good or bad choices. I am not defined by how I perform or what other people think of me.

At the core of my spirit, I am not a father or a mother. I am not a husband or a wife. I am not a daughter or a son. I am not a friend. I am not a student. I am not a kind person. I am not an angry person. I’m not a……….

B. Affirm the reality of your soul’s true identity.
I affirm the truth of my soul's true identity. I am God’s beloved created for union with Him. In my deepest place, I am a naked spirit clothed in the righteousness of Christ. I am precious in God's eyes. From all eternity, God calls me His beloved. He holds me in an everlasting embrace.

III. Examine how you have been approaching God
Have I been praying to God as if He was a genie? Have I been praying to God know that He, too, has a will? Has my will alone been consulted? Have I been using God as an idol to meet my needs? Have I been acknowledging him as if He is the Good Shepherd of my life?

I have not been praying to you as if you were really here holding me in love all day. I have not prayed to you as if you really love me as I am, your beloved. I have not sought your will or relied on you; I have relied on myself again all day.
Please forgive me for my idolatry. Help me to hide in your loving embrace and seek your will and direction throughout the day. Help me become secure, abiding in that loved place with you, that I may go out from here to love and serve others without confusion about who I am or what you would have me do

Resolve to keep your heart and mind attentive to God. Align your will to His will. Be receptive, silent, and still.

Starting Off Well for The Year

2008-12-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

This post has been used before in The Jesus Conspiracy but I will be spending some time thinking about this next year and how I will intend to cultivate my relationship with God. I hope you find this helpful and I'm sorry if it is not fresh. You also may want to spend sometime praying for those in our church family that are grieving.

We all have certain rules or mottos that shape our direction like “Never give up,” “Never say never,” or “Just do it.” Developing a “rule for life” is a way of intentionally guiding the rhythm and shape of our days in order to direct us toward an end goal. In Acts 2:42 the early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” This rule was an effort to join with God in their transformation process of becoming like Jesus. Ultimately, a rule will help you love God more and be more open to His teachings. If it becomes a way of earning points with God, it should be thrown out.

Deuteronomy 30:11-20
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life

Reflection: (Spend some time journaling through at least one of these questions.)
• What unspoken rules currently govern or shape your life? How do you currently determine what you will and won’t do?

Practice:
Take some time today and this weekend to write a “rule/rhythm for life” or a covenant with God. This is a living, changing document, but begin by creating a skeleton. Here are some questions to help you:
- When do you feel closest to God? What are the particular practices that open you to God?
- What do you currently do to realize your goals and longings? (work, study, pray, socialize, diet, work out) Which of these things hinder and help your spiritual transformation?
- What practices suit your daily, monthly, and yearly rhythm? What limitations are built into your life at this moment? What desires remain steady throughout?
- Where do you want to change? Where do you feel powerless to change?
- Choose several practices (these can change as you experience more, especially next week) that arise from your desire for God to transform you. Take into consideration the limits and realities of your current life.

Sample Rule for Life
- Dedicate every day (in the morning) to be present with God through…. (prayer, worship, gratitude, study)
- Examine my day in the evening and pray this Psalm. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Then confess my sins.
- Worship the Lord alone and with others
-Pray for others
-Meet with a friend or mentor every month to discuss my journey and receive encouragement, teaching, and wisdom.
-Pray three times a day at 9 am. 12 pm, and 4 pm.

This is just a sample and it’s written very simply but it allows us to begin to shape our days so that we are intentionally opening ourselves to the grace of God. Make this a living document and begin to make it more and more specific and detailed.

Belovedness Belongs to All

2008-12-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Prayer for Enemies and Compassion

2008-12-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

INTRO
Every week there will be a new prayer to be practiced. These prayers are just suggestions and you don't have to practice the current prayer. Feel free to experiment with any of the previous prayers. Prayer is just an opportunity to spend time with our creator and learn to live and love more like His son, Jesus. There is no one way to pray. All of us are created with different personalities and different ways of relating, not only to one another, but to God as well. If you find a practice that works for you stick with it. God draws each of us in, with different means. Thomas Merton spoke of prayer the best when he said, "Prayer is turning towards God, if you can't pray, just turn towards God."

We often pray for deliverance from those who anger us. We long to be released from those whom we think seek us harm. However, God calls us to compassion, Henri Nouwen said, “Compassion can never coexist with judgment because judgment creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other.” This prayer is a prayer that leads to the heart of God by calling us to transformation through seeking for the “beloved” not only in ourselves but also in others.

Luke 6:37-28
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

This prayer for enemies was written by Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich (a Serbian Orthodox bishop who opposed the Nazis and was eventually sent to the Dachau concentration camp.) Take time with this prayer stop and spend time in areas you feel God calling you to stop and take notice of in your own life. This prayer can be very hard at times because of the change it calls us towards. Growth and transformation are never easy or painless; however, God promises the He will be with us always.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Your garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me: so that my fleeing to You may have no return; so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs; so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven; ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself. One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Advent Preparation-Expectation

2008-11-30T14:37:00.000-08:00

Centering Prayer

2008-11-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Prayer is not a request for God’s favors. True, it has been used to obtain the satisfaction of personal desires. It has even been adopted to reinforce the prejudices, justify violence, and create barriers between people and between countries. But genuine prayer is based on recognizing the Origin of all that exists, and opening ourselves to it…In prayer we acknowledge God as the supreme source from which flows all strength, all goodness, all existence, acknowledging that we have our being, life itself from the supreme Power. One can then communicate with this Source, worship it, and ultimately place ones very center in it.
- Piero Ferrucci

Psalm 62:1
My soul finds rest in God alone.

Acts 17:28
For in him we live and move and have our being.

Centering prayer is a practice where one seeks to quiet the worries, distractions, and desires that pull us away from resting in the presence of God. This prayer may seem strange at first because it does not rely on words. We aren't giving God information or telling him or agenda. We don't offer suggestions to God for what we want Him to do. We often think we need to feel or experience something in prayer for it to be real. We should never judge the value of prayer based on feeling or experience alone. In fact, the fruit of centering prayer is usually experienced in the fruit it bears throughout one's busy day. Often I find myself returning to my "word" as the busyness and stress of my life tries to take over. Centering prayer trusts that just being in the presence of God brings transformation.

Instructions:

The first step is to find a simple word like “God”, “King”, “Love”, "Father", or “Abba”. Repeat this word only as a thought comes to mind not over and over like a mantra. It doesn’t matter what word it is or that the word might have special meaning, it may take you some time to find the word but never use different words in one session of prayer. If you focus on the word it will become a distraction and the point is to get rid of all distractions and worries. Try to spend at least 15 minutes in this prayer and follow the method below. Remember that every distraction or worry becomes an opportunity to return to God. The thoughts now serve as a reminder to return to God and rest in Him alone.

1. Find a quiet spot with a chair. Sit upright and be as relaxed and comfortable as you possibly can be. If you can be in the same space every time it is better. You could have pictures of your family, a cross, icon, or picture anything that might draw your attention towards God’s love. Keep your eyes closed unless you start to fall asleep.
2. Take some time and settle. Recite the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23, or another passage to begin centering your attention on God.
3. Once you have settled sit silently. Every time a thought, worry, concern, anxious thought, or anything comes to mind recite your word releasing the thought.
The Four R’s: (Cynthia Bourgeault Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening)
Resist no thought
Retain no Thought
React to no thought
Return to your sacred word.
4. At the end of your time (15 minutes) recite a bible passage as you did at the beginning to re-enter into the world.

Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)

2008-11-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Joshua 1:8
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Psalm 19:4
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Written By Michael Bischoff

Meditation is a method of reading the Bible in a devotional way (as opposed to literal, moral, or allegorical) believing that, because it is God’s inspired Word, it’s a living and active text that has something to say to each individual believer. Meditation assumes that, by entering deeply into the text of God’s holy Word, God will be made known to us, speak to us, and shape our lives. It is reading the Bible with no agenda, no presuppositions.
One needs to purposefully shed the common methods most of us use in our everyday reading (such as reading for entertainment or information). The following is an ancient practice called Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)

Practice:
Find a Bible translation or paraphrase that is easily readable.
Use a Bible without notes, underlining, or study helps – anything that will distract you from what God is saying to you today.
Pay attention to your surroundings – you want quiet or silence, enough light to read but not so bright to be distracting, and no other distractions (like phones).
Choose a time of day when you are wide awake and set aside enough time to hear from God.
Choose a text of Scripture that you sense will be a good source of devotion for you. While all of Scripture can be used for this, as you are beginning it might be best to choose a Psalm, something from the gospels, or a short paragraph from one of the epistles. Follow the steps below.

Structure
• Reading a passage of Scripture (lectio)
o Read the scripture slowly, repeatedly, and aloud if possible
o Allow the text to trigger memories and associations that reside below the threshold of awareness
o Be calm, deliberate, gradual, and listening hard for what God has to say to you
o Imagine what your temperament will be in heaven sitting at God’s feet
o Listen for a word or phrase that rises above the rest of text (“rings”) and grabs a hold of you
o Reading aloud helps the words and phrases resonate in the ear

• Meditation on that passage (meditatio)
o This is the “interior intelligence” of the text – what seem to be the values, the underlying assumptions and presumptions of this passage?
o How is my life touched today by this passage?
o What is this passage inviting me to do?
o As you attend to those deeper meanings, begin to meditate on the feelings and emotions that are conjured up in your inner self

• Prayer (oratio)
o Although it is all prayer, here one deliberately asks God for illumination
o Respond to God, telling your desire to respond to the invitation or asking questions

• Contemplation (contemplatio)
o Silent waiting on God
o Where your prayer moves beyond words and intellect into a place where time and eternity almost touch
o This final step takes patience and practice, and is often the most difficult to achieve
o It may be merely a moment of silence, peace, and rest in the midst of 10 minutes of struggle to quiet your mind

Prayer of Examen

2008-11-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

2 Corinthians 13:5
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you

We know we should pray, but often we just don’t know what to say or what to pray about. The following is an ancient prayer handed down through the centuries helping many to become more aware and listen for the movement of God in their lives.

The Prayer of Examen is an exploration of how God is present within the events, circumstances, feeling of our daily lives. This method focuses on listening and discerning where God's presence was and where

You can pray through the outline below meditating on each point for a period of time but many also find journaling through this prayer to be a blessing.

(Start with thanksgiving, noticing the moments that you were most grateful and least grateful for.)
Reflect on your entire day becoming aware of the specific events that you are thankful for.
Loving God, I am totally dependent on you. Everything is a gift from you. All is gift. I give you thanks and praise for the gifts of this day…

God, I believe you work through and in time to reveal me to myself. Please give me an increased awareness of how you are guiding and shaping my life, as well as a more sensitive awareness of the obstacles I put in your way…

You have been present in my life today. Be near, now, as I reflect on:
Your presence in the events of today…
Your presence in the feelings I experienced today…
Your call to me…
My response to you...

This might also be helpful
- Ask when did you give and receive the most love today? When and where did I give and receive the least love today?
- What was the most life-giving and life-draining part of my day?
- When today did I have the deepest sense of connection with God? When today did I have the least sense of connection
- Where was I aware of living out of the fruit of the Spirit? Where was there an absence of the fruit of the Spirit?

Oh God, I ask your loving forgiveness and healing. The particular event of this day that I most want healed is…

Filled with hope and a firm belief in your love and power, I entrust myself to your care, and strongly affirm…(Claim the gift you most desire, most need; believe that God desires to give you that gift.)

P-R-A-Y

2008-11-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

This week we are going to be practicing the PRAY model for prayer.

P=Praise and Adoration

R=Repent

A=Ask

Y=Yield

You may find it helpful to journal and write out your prayers. It may help you stay focused and not get distracted. You should try with a journal and without and then discern which is most helpful to you.

PRAISE: Start by reading Psalm 145 or another Psalm of praise.

Read the Psalm slowly and pray the words from your own heart. Re-write the Psalm in your own words or just begin to thank God for things in your life as they come to mind.

REPENT: You may also want to read Psalm 32. Begin to confess your sins allow God to "search your heart". Allow God to forgive you, receive His mercy.

ASK:

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

1 John 5:14-15

We don't always know what to ask for but we will never learn until we begin to ask. Ask for everything and pray for everyone. If you already know what and who to pray for begin to write those things down on a list. As more names or things come to mind write those down. This list then becomes a living document that continues to grow but also begins to shrink as God begins to answers your requests. Asking God for things also helps us remember, we are not God. That we need His help. We can not do everything ourselves nor does God ask us to.

YIELD: Finally in prayer we begin to submit to God. We do not pray so God will submit to our will but so that we may discern His will and yield to his purposes.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him...Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants form you, and quickly respond to it.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

"Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. yet I want you will to be done, not mine."

Luke 22:42