5 min intro to Centering Prayer:
I am a task-oriented person. I go to the grocery
store and come out with only what was on my list. A few years ago,
I felt let to give up “to do” lists for Lent because I was basing my personal
worth on how many things I got checked off in a day. I was putting too much of
my identity in what I was doing. God was asking me to trust Him to bring to
mind things I needed to do.
In the midst of busy life, I have found spiritual
disciplines to be essential. Today, I want to share about centering prayer, a
type of contemplative prayer that can help us to be more God-focused. We may
speak to God often in prayer, but it’s harder to listen to God. Silence can be
uncomfortable.
Centering prayer is a tool to connect and to get us out of
our ordinary awareness and all that consumes us. It is an exercise in being
your true self (who we ARE) before God in Christ, allowing the stuff we DO to
fade away. Many of the things that fill our time are just a smoke screen for
our true selves. But God sees us as we truly are and accepts us completely. We
let go of our own agenda and give the control over to God.
This is a still, silent prayer of inviting and receiving
God’s presence. He knows the deep places in our hearts that need healing, and
he can work on that level.
We know that Jesus spent a lot of time alone with God during
His earthly life. He often got up early or seemed to escape to a quiet place to
pray. He served as our example and He is the way for us to come to the Father
(John 14:6-7). He has given us the Holy Spirit in us. This prayer helps us to
be unified with God.
Here’s what we’ll do. First, we start with a meditative
reading (Psalm), then I will ring the gong to begin our 20 minutes of silence.
During the 20 minutes, we want to continually recognize an intention and
consent to open ourselves to God’s presence and action in our lives. You
can choose a word or image to “center” on, representing your intention to say
“yet” to God. It should be 1-2 syllables. For example, I often use “Jesus,
Peace, Grace”. This is not a mantra but a tool to gently bring you back to the
purpose of consenting to God. When 20 minutes is up, I’ll ring the gong
again, and end in a spoken prayer.
During the time of silence, you will have a lot of thoughts.
Try to let those thoughts pass by; don’t engage them. It’s like your thoughts
are little boats on a river and you’re floating in the same river, allowing the
current of God to carry you. Some of the thought boats may bump you, but just
let it go and keep in God’s flow.
4 R’s – Resist no thought, Retain no thought, React
emotionally to no thought, Return ever-so-gently
Do not judge the prayer; it is not good or bad, even if you
really struggle to let go of thoughts. Keep practicing after you leave here.
It may be uncomfortable but that’s okay, many new
things are. The rewards of surrendering to God in this way are worth the
discomfort.
CP: 20 min
Psalm 131
My heart is not proud,
O Lord, my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern
myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and
quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother;
Like a weaned childe
is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your
hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.
Set timer
gong
20 minutes of silence
gong
prayer
“Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so
guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be
wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray, as you
will, and always to your own glory and to the welfare or your people;
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.” – BCP 832-833
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