I learned many lessons from spending time with God this summer. I journaled this morning that I feel so blessed, grateful and busy. I am overwhelmed both by God's goodness and all the fullness he is pouring into my heart right now. I also feel like I've been thrown into a rushing river, not drowning, but being pushed along in unpredictable, wild rapids – exhilarating joy accompanied by exhausting journey. Remember the poem – A Bike Ride with God. Here is the link to when I shared it previously. It's a great story and to reread once again. Yes, this is exactly how I am feeling today, and God is leading, I am pedaling. What am I learning spiritually in the midst of this craziness? Surprisingly I am hearing God, seeing him in these experiences and finding lessons, especially in prayer. Time with God Praying with Purpose Dialogue prayer took form in my journal while I was on my 8-day silent retreat in early July. Dialogue prayer reflects the basic definition of prayer – a … [Read more...]
10 Simple Ways to Strengthen Your Prayer Life – Guest Post Rachel Larkin
We have been exploring the spiritual practice of prayer throughout 2018. I invited fellow writer Rachel Larkin to share her thoughts on ways to strengthen your prayer life. So glad to have you here, Rachel! Rachel Larkin is an author, speaker, chartered accountant and home-school mum. She lives in New Zealand with her husband and their three young adult sons. She is the author of Simple Prayer: The Guide for Ordinary People Seeking the Extraordinary https://www.rachellarkin.com/book/simple-prayer/ . She has a passion to see believers growing in faith and prayer as well as developing their potential for Jesus. She blogs at https://www.rachellarkin.com/. To find out more on seeing God turn up in your daily life, Rachel has a free eBook available for download - The Untold Story: 7 Steps to Seeing God in the Midst of your Real Messy Life https://www.rachellarkin.com/book/untold-story/ Thank you for sharing your words and wisdom with us: 10 Simple Ways to Strengthen Your … [Read more...]
Intercessory Prayer – Praying for Others – Even the Difficult Ones
As we continue our exploration of prayer this year, last week we began exploring intercessory prayer or praying for others. I have been rereading and pondering Phillip Yancey's book on Prayer during this year. Praying for others affects us in powerful ways as much as it affects others. Here are some of his thoughts on Intercessory Prayer: "When I pray for another person, I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs towards that person….Bringing them into God's presence changes my attitude toward them and ultimately affects our relationship…Prayer allows me to see others as God sees them and me: as uniquely flowed and uniquely gifted bearers of God's image. I begin seeing them through Jesus' eyes, as beloved children who the Father longs to embrace." Nice image to hold when praying for others. But sometimes intercessory prayer is difficult: "Frank Laubach…describes how he sought to … [Read more...]
Intercessory Prayer
Intercessory prayer is simply praying for others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote "Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the fellowship must enter every day." This type of prayer is a form of loving the other. I imagine lifting people into God's light and love. This powerful prayer practice can be as a pointed, persistent pleading on behalf of someone else for a deep need. Some intercessory prayers are general: “Lord I pray for those forgotten or those suffering in such and such country.” Or they can be specific: “Lord draw Tom closer to you and give him strength to get through this difficult time.” Often I simply say, “Lord you know best what she needs today. Help her know your love.” Jane Vennard teaches about another form of intercessory prayer is called “arrow prayers.” It is like holding a bow, pulling the string back, and letting the arrow fly. This form is spontaneous — the times that prayers for others are pulled right out of me, such … [Read more...]
Praising God through the Prayer of Adoration
One type of prayer we haven't discussed yet in our pilgrimage into the different types of prayer this summer is the prayer of adoration. How do we response to God's unending, outrageous, overwhelming outpouring of love? God who pursues each of us as if there were only one of us. The One who knows our name. Knows the number of hairs on our head. Who loves us so much he sent is only son to save us. How else can we respond but by adoration? "Adoration is the spontaneous yearning of the heart to worship, honor magnify and bless God…In one sense, adoration is not a special form of prayer, for all true prayer is saturated with it, It is the air in which prayer breathes, the sea in which prayer swims…We ask for nothing but to cherish him. We focus on nothing but his goodness." Richard Foster. How to Build Adoration into our Prayers As ego-centered children of God, we must intentionally learn, then practice the prayer of adoration. Like reminding our kids to say please and thank … [Read more...]
Have You Practiced the Covenant Prayer?
In the series as we explore different types of prayers, I have introduced prayer practices that are part of my regular time with God. Ones I do frequently like the prayer of examen and breath prayers. But this week I am featuring one I didn't know much about until I researched it more. The Covenant Prayer. I think many of us may have tried versions of this prayer but if you are like me, I never dug deeper into the details about it. The Covenant Prayer In Richard Foster's book, Prayer – he gives this prayer a full chapter. A covenant prayer is in essence the prayer we may say at baptism, confirmation, or an ordination/consecration. This prayer bubbles up inside my heart often on silent retreats too as a recommitment to God. We make a covenant with God and pledge our obedience to him. Our full obedience. Read and ponder this paragraph from Richard Foster: "We respond to the heavenly overtures of God's love first through the Covenant of Holy Obedience. Without reservation we … [Read more...]
The Prayer of Examen
We are exploring types of prayer in July and August here on Healthy Spirituality and today I am excited to discuss one of my "go-to" kinds of prayer – one that brings me closer to God and has transformed me spiritually. The Prayer of Examen What is the prayer of examen? This prayer is a prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction. With this prayer we clearly discover God's blessing in our ordinary life. The Examen is an ancient practice in the Church that can help us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience. It originated with St. Ignatius. The simple steps of this prayer are: Quiet yourself. And allow yourself to relax into God’s loving arms. Some people imagine sitting on the sofa with God. Ask God to be present with you. Reflect on the past 24 hours, asking yourself several questions. My favorite questions to ask are: What am I most grateful for? What am I least grateful for? When did I … [Read more...]
Tips for Using Breath Prayers
This summer Healthy Spirituality has been and will continue to explore different approaches to prayer. With 2018 being the year of prayer here on this blog and in my faith community it is the perfect time to try a new way of praying and opening our heart to God. One of my favorite ways to quiet my soul to hear God is through the use of breath prayers. What are Breath Prayers? The Bibles teaches us to “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) How do we do this? A breath prayer is a very short prayer that can be said in one breath and repeated throughout the day. It is an ancient form of prayer, found in writings as early as the second century. The prayer communicates a sense of nearness with trust and dependency on God. Perhaps the best-known breath prayer is called the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” This prayer had its origin within the Christian tradition of the East and can be traced back to the sixth century. At the … [Read more...]