Pastor’s Paragraph - September 10, 2020
Exploring Prayer
All things in our lives change, even our prayers. Over time I have explored new ways of prayer, some of which have enriched my spiritual life temporarily and some for longer term. One of the things I have tried over a longer period of time is starting prayer with some self-examining questions. I often like to take a few notes on my answers. I start by asking myself: how do I feel? This helps me to keep in touch with what is going on in my life that I might need to give to prayer. I might feel tired, drained, anxious, happy. How I feel may be a clue to something that I am not taking time to recognize in my daily life.
I also ask myself: what are my thoughts? What am I thinking about and what is on my mind that might need discernment or prayer. It is also a good time to let go of thoughts to be more focused on prayer. I ask myself: what is my intention for prayer - What do I need right now - love, comfort, discernment?
Because this prayer time is contemplative I ask myself what word I want to bring to prayer to help me stay focused on God's Presence. Sometime I use the word peace and sometimes the peace of Christ. At this point I might ask myself how I will transition into silent resting and healing in the Presence of God. Sometimes I transition by cleansing breaths and sometimes by intercessory prayer for the needs of someone or something which comes to mind.
Then I enter into the process of silent awareness, waiting, healing, and feeling God's love. The awareness of God's Presence reminds me that there is nothing more I need, that I can give time to God and let go of the busyness in my mind. Some say that God is in the silence.
Afterward I ponder my quiet time thinking about how I feel and is this different than when I began. I think about what kind of things distracted me and what insight I received from the time with God. I end with recognizing the result of this time which is often awe or thankfulness, and sometimes amazement that I lasted through the quiet time.
I hope you will consider trying to have a quiet time with God. It does not have to be long. I also hope you will try asking yourself some questions about how you are coming to and going from your prayer time. I would like to hear what questions come to your mind.
Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
