This isn’t the typical list of spiritual disciplines that we’re used to, i.e. fasting, solitude, worship, prayer, service, etc. Instead it’s a year’s worth of spiritual disciplines from Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, An Altar in the World (a book I highly recommend!).

If you’re looking for something a little different, try one or more of these practices to draw you closer to the Lord.

1. The practice of waking up to God
   (Vision)
2. The practice of paying attention
   (Reverence)
3. The practice of wearing skin
   (Incarnation)
4. The practice of walking on the earth
   (Groundedness)
5. The practice of getting lost
   (Wilderness)
6. The practice of encountering others
   (Community)
7. The practice of living with purpose
   (Vocation)
8. The practice of saying no
   (Sabbath)
9. The practice of carrying water
   (Physical labor)
10. The practice of feeling pain
    (Breakthrough)
11. The practice of being present to God
    (Prayer)
12. The practice of pronouncing blessings
    (Benediction)

* * *

Most of us spend so much time thinking about where we have been or where we are supposed to be going that we have a hard time recognizing where we actually are.
BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR

The trail was listed as 2 miles. But it felt much longer.

It’s been a few years now since we walked this trail. In one of the last remaining virgin forests in North Carolina—the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest—the view was grand.

But the terrain was touchy. You had to go slow. Not only because of the incline, but because of tree roots and rocks and stumps.

You had to pay attention to where each foot landed.

You had to notice.

You had to stay grounded.

It’s a spiritual discipline to stay grounded. To remember how to walk on the earth as we live in the Spirit.

To remember that where our feet are now is also where our heart needs to be. In this moment is where I AM resides.

Sometimes we do not know what we know until it comes to us through the soles of our feet, the embrace of a tender lover, or the kindness of a stranger.

Touching the truth with our minds alone is not enough.

We are made to touch it with our bodies.

Back home, the walk is easier. I leave my shoes unlaced in the closet. I walk barefoot outside, stepping quickly over the hot pavement to cool my toes in the grass. Ever watchful for thorny weeds or ant resorts, I still enjoy the sensation of nothing under my feet but earth.

It’s when feet are uncovered they’re most aware of the ground.

To go barefoot is to live raw.
To notice each step.
To track the refined nuances of pain and pleasure.

To watch for prints of love around you to match its stride and pace your journey to its walking speed, slow enough to pay attention but fast enough to keep moving.

So I walk.

With shoes off. On holy ground. Here and now.

When we stepped off the mountain trail after the supposed two miles had ended, our feet were tired.

But our souls were grounded.

* * *

revised from the archives

What holy ground have you stepped on lately? Share your thoughts in the comments.

The Practice of Walking on Earth is #4 of 12 spiritual disciplines from Barbara Brown Taylor’s wonderful book, An Altar in the World.

Read more here about each discipline.

1. The practice of waking up to God
   (Vision)
2. The practice of paying attention
   (Reverence)
3. The practice of wearing skin
   (Incarnation)
4. The practice of walking on the earth
   (Groundedness)
5. The practice of getting lost
   (Wilderness)
6. The practice of encountering others
   (Community)
7. The practice of living with purpose
   (Vocation)
8. The practice of saying no
   (Sabbath)
9. The practice of carrying water
   (Physical labor)
10. The practice of feeling pain
    (Breakthrough)
11. The practice of being present to God
    (Prayer)
12. The practice of pronouncing blessings
    (Benediction)

What Happened to Hank?

Hank (not his real name) confused me.

Week after week he wandered inside Manna House mumbling, sometimes singing. He’d carry boxes. He’d unload fruit. He’d return a cart to the back (and you best get out of his way).

Everybody knew him. And treated him with care.

I finally got it, too: locked inside this 70ish year old body was the intellect of a young child.

But then Hank disappeared.

On a night away from Manna House, Hank was crossing the street as usual from his low-rent apartment complex to a nearby convenience store.

But this time he didn’t make it across the street.

Hank was hit by a van. He fell to the ground.

A few neighbors in his complex were looking out their windows that night. They witnessed not only the hit, but something else.

Something very eerie . . .

Put Him in the Van

The neighbors knew Hank because Hank loved them.

When he volunteered at Manna House, it wasn’t just to serve the people who lined up there. It was also to help his neighbors back home. When he’d load up his own box of food to take home, he always packed extra to distribute to others. (I learned early on not to touch anything in Hank’s box. It was his to give away.)

But on the night of this hit-and-run, Hank was the one needing love.

The intoxicated driver and the passenger stepped out of the van. They saw Hank motionless on the pavement.

They then made another bad decision that night. Instead of calling for help, they decided to do away with the evidence.

They lifted Hank’s body to load him into their van.

Watchful Eyes

But what the driver and passenger couldn’t have imagined was this: many eyes were watching from the windows of Hank’s apartment complex. They wouldn’t allow this to happen to their Hank. Their fingers quickly dialed 911 and the police arrived before the van got away.

Things still looked bad for Hank. Because of the jostling, his injuries were now even worse. He was in ICU day after day after day. No one knew if this grown man with a child’s mind would ever recover.

But friends came. Friends visited. Friends prayed.

Little by little, Hank got better. And lot by lot, Hank received love.

A few months later, on a Wednesday night before food distribution was to begin at Manna House, Fran prayed about Hank. As she was thanking God for his recovery, I heard shuffling feet around the corner.

There came Hank.

Still Has Purpose

Hank was oblivious to any attention on his account. He wore a neck brace. He wasn’t mumbling to himself or singing like I had been used to him doing, but he was still Hank.

He still had purpose.

He was gathering cans of food into a clean garbage bag. His driver asked if he needed that much, and he said he had to take it to his neighbors. She said okay. Because she knew he would give it to them.

This was how he loved his neighbors. And they loved him for it.

Hank wasn’t finished here yet. An old man with a small mind but a big heart was still in use. Nobody could take that away before its time.

Practice Your Purpose

A few years later during the pandemic, Hank’s health deteriorated. He eventually had to leave his beloved apartment and friends, and move into a nursing home.

It was there one afternoon that a friend was visiting with Hank. After they talked a bit, Hank said his goodbyes. His soul left his body.

But his spirit lives on. He is still remembered at Manna House and at his apartment complex by those who loved him and by those he loved.

Living with purpose is being like Hank. It is loving with purpose.  

Loving is our purpose, regardless of who we are, where we are, or what we have.

And as long as we’re here, we’re not done either.

* * *

Loving others is one way to practice living with purpose. Share in the comments how you live with purpose.

Read more spiritual practices here:

• The practice of encounter
• The practice of the wilderness
• The practice of walking on earth
• The practice of physical labor
• The practice of saying no
• The practice of wearing skin
• The practice of slowing down
• The practice of waking up to God

revised from the archives

While my own church has never fully participated in Lenten practices, I still like to honor Lent on my own. Jeff and I visited a neighborhood church on Ash Wednesday to begin the Lenten season this year.

Sometimes for Lent I give something up.

But other years I like to add something in.

Are you doing anything differently during the 40 days of Lent this year leading up to Easter Sunday on April 17?

For our featured post this week, Sarah Howley shares four practices you could try for Lent. (And even though Lent has already begun, you can still jump in.)

We’re likely all familiar with three of the practices she mentions:

• Lament
• Fasting
• Prayer

But what intrigues me the most about Sarah’s list is this fourth practice:

• Integrate

“Rather than abstaining during Lent, there are also those who choose to add to their lives at lent.”

If you’re reading a Lenten devotional or Bible plan during this time, you’re integrating.

For 2022 I’m using Kate Bowler’s Lenten devotional, “A Good Enough Lent: A 40-Day Companion to Read, Reflect, and Pray,” alongside her book, Good Enough. (You can sign up for Kate’s emails and free reflection guide here, if you’re interested.)

But I’m also adding in a yoga journey with Adriene. During these 40 days of Lent, I want to be more aware of the body God gave me. I’m adding in this healthy practice to better appreciate this gift of my flesh from God and be more grateful to God for it.

Yet I’m also aware of this: Even if we are adding in something extra during Lent, we are also giving something up. Maybe it’s sacrificing a chunk of time for a yoga practice or giving up your regular reading for a Lenten reading.

The point of Lent is to focus our minds more on the final days of Jesus’s life, his death, and his resurrection. It’s to reveal our own need for change and ultimate celebration of victory in Christ. It’s to draw us closer to Jesus and his love for us, and in turn to spread more love to others.

So whether you take something away or add something in—or do neither (that’s okay, too!)—during Lent, creating an intention to live more aware of the love of God is always a worthy practice.

Read all of Sarah’s post here, then add your own links below.

Four Biblical Practices for Lent

Are you doing anything special for Lent? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Thanks for sharing, Sarah! Here’s a button for your blog.

I’m linking at these blog parties

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.   

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

UPDATE:

If you’re looking for accountability for your One Word 2022 journey, !

Have you picked one word to focus on in the new year? Now is the time!

Not Another Resolution

A lot of people don’t like New Year resolutions. I get that.

• Resolutions are often too hard (or we would have done them already, right?).
• Resolutions are often too vague or unrealistic.
• And resolutions are easy to forget about and drop altogether.

That’s why I like choosing one word instead. (Well . . . letting one word choose me—that’s often how it works.)

• One word is simple.
• One word is easy to remember.
• And one word is flexible in the directions it can take you.

Only God knows what the year ahead holds for us. So at our invitation, he’ll guide us to a word custom-designed for our year to come.

That’s a good thing.
And a faith-building thing.

For example, when I chose “Breathe” in 2010, I didn’t know it would be the year both my parents would take their last breaths. When I chose “Venture” in 2012, I had no idea I’d be leaving my old religious heritage that year to branch out into a new faith direction. When 2014 brought “Compassion,” it totally wrecked and expanded me at the same time.

And in 2019 when I chose “Hope” as my one word, I didn’t know that a dear friend would die or that I would be on the road much of the year or that God would stretch me in new ways.

Now it’s time to choose for next year.

3 Steps to Choose One Word

Using the acronym LAP, here are 3 steps that help me decide on one word. Maybe they can help you, too, as we all get ready to take another lap around the globe.

1. L—Listen

Pay attention. God is already at work in you, doing new things, preparing you for new things.

Are you hearing repetitive messages on a specific theme? Does a particular song touch you deeply? Have you been drawn to a certain book or author?

God can work through any of these avenues. Listen for his message. Stay present to his wisdom. It’s not something you sweat over, but something you notice and receive. Accept what comes without having to understand it fully. God will reveal more when the time is right.

2. A—Abbreviate

Now is time to narrow your focus. It’s better to give your full attention to one main word or concept than be distracted by a hundred little resolutions. Be most attentive to one thing at a time. This thing. At this time. With this person.

Your one word choice doesn’t have to be profound or complex. Keep it simple and relevant to this season of your life. It’s a step, not the complete journey.

When you welcome whatever comes in this one day—accepting it as your reality and being with it (even if it’s something that needs to change in the next moment)—you stay most in the presence of God. Once you own it now, he’ll guide you what to do with it next.

3. P—Plan

Think of a few concrete things you can DO to help you live out your one word. For 2019 I chose 28 ways to practice “hope” (I wrote it in a series here).  You don’t have to be that specific, but do come up with a few ideas of how you can use your word.

But at the same time, also release expectations of where your one word will take you. Let go of a specific outcome you may have in mind. It’s about the process instead.

Plan for the future, but hold those plans loosely.

There’s no way you can predict how God will use your word. Just know this: God will honor your intentions to honor him through it. Trust that his grace will be enough.

Pray about receiving your word from God, then hand it right back to him.

Let him embed it into your life one relationship at a time, one day at a time, one situation at a time.

He knows what he’s doing. 

* * *

Have you chosen One Word in the past? Do you have One Word for this year? Please share in the comments.

You can join the OneWord365 community here. Get ideas for a word and connect with others who have chosen the same word as you.

updated from the archives

]]> https://lisanotes.com/3-steps-to-choose-one-word/feed/ 73 https://lisanotes.com/look-closer-the-practice-of-encounters/ https://lisanotes.com/look-closer-the-practice-of-encounters/#comments Mon, 19 Aug 2019 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.lisanotes.com/?p=621 Who is the needy one? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Take a closer look. The main impediment to living a life of meaning is being self-absorbed. – Barbara Brown Taylor… ]]>

Who is the needy one? Sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Take a closer look.

The main impediment to living a life of meaning is being self-absorbed.
– Barbara Brown Taylor

Can You Tell Us Apart?

I ask him if I can help. Does he need anything?

He says no, he is helping someone himself.

Oops.

When you volunteer at Manna House, you don’t dress up. I often can’t tell the “volunteers” from the “needy.”  I’m occasionally asked if I need food myself.

I think I know why. I can’t tell us apart because we’re all needy.

Ryan (not his real name) looks like a teenage hippie from the 1960s. Long stringy hair. Tie-dye shirt. Vacant look in his eyes.

Ryan rides in on a bicycle. He parks it in the back of the warehouse because we all know what you leave out front can leave with somebody different. He says little to anyone. He mainly wanders around and does whatever Ms. Fran asks him to do.

He has a hard life. I’m told his mom was in a bad car wreck so Ryan is now the sole caregiver for his disabled mom and whatever siblings are still in the house.

Ryan is needy.

In his case, it’s obvious. So Ms. Fran makes sure he leaves packed down with as much food as he can carry home to meet needs there.

The Less Obviously Needy

Other needy ones aren’t quite as obvious. The man with the clean-cut look and confident stride (clearly “volunteer”) also has needs. You have to talk to him to find that out.

And the lady with the smile on her face and new running shoes on her feet (another sign of “volunteer”) is also needy.

• She needs to break free of self-centeredness,
• needs to stop believing she’s self-sufficient, and
• needs to help other needy.

I know. Because I am that lady.

I am the needy, too.

Get Over Yourself

A unique but valuable spiritual discipline I often need to experience is the practice of encountering others. As Barbara Brown Taylor so bluntly says in her fabulous book, An Altar in the World:

“The assignment is to get over your self.”

Everyone has needs. Some just recognize their neediness more than others do. Maybe they fight it less. Maybe they humble themselves quicker.

• But we all are crippled.
• We all have weaknesses.
• We all have needs.

I’d love to learn more of Ryan’s story one day. He is still guarded; he doesn’t express his needs easily.

Maybe we could teach each other to be more direct about our needs and better accept grace given.

So I’ll be watching closer for him, for an encounter—as one needy person to another.

UPDATE:

I ran into Ryan again last Thursday night at Manna House. I asked him how things were going. “Actually, not too good,” he said.

I asked about his mom. She has since passed. And his brother? He’s trying to keep him cleaned up, but the brother isn’t cooperating.

I was proud of Ryan’s honesty and openness. Maybe we are changing. Being vulnerable with our needs is a sign of maturity for all of us.

Let’s keep practicing open encounters.

* * *

Who have you encountered lately that is needy? How aware are you of your own neediness? Please share your thoughts in the comments about the Practice of Encounters.

If you’d like other unique spiritual practices, here is a year’s worth, inspired by Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, An Altar in the World:

1. The practice of waking up to God
   (Vision)
2. The practice of paying attention
   (Reverence)
3. The practice of wearing skin
   (Incarnation)
4. The practice of walking on the earth
   (Groundedness)
5. The practice of getting lost
   (Wilderness)
6. The practice of encountering others
   (Community)
7. The practice of living with purpose
   (Vocation)
8. The practice of saying no
   (Sabbath)
9. The practice of carrying water
   (Physical labor)
10. The practice of feeling pain
    (Breakthrough)
11. The practice of being present to God
    (Prayer)
12. The practice of pronouncing blessings
    (Benediction)

revised from the archives

God is constantly teaching us lessons.

But sometimes we sleep through class. If we show up at all.

However, there are also times—especially during times of great suffering or great joy—when we’re all ears. Alert and listening, we work hard to understand what he’s showing us, soaking up every lesson.

We want to remember these lessons. They matter. They change our lives, not only in the moment, but also in our future.

So how can we hold on to these these lessons from God?

One way to retain our lessons is to document them.

Create a Notebook

On Tuesday, April 23, Enjoy God’s Word Conference will begin. There will be a wide range of topics and speakers on different ways to grow closer to God.

I’ll be sharing “How to Create a Spiritual Growth Notebook” on how we can keep track of God’s faithfulness.

Here’s a 1-minute sneak peek from the conference.

[Click here if you don’t see the video]

During this session we’ll look at why it’s beneficial to keep a record of your spiritual history.

• Because we forget when we don’t intentionally plan to remember.
• Because remembering the past helps us move more faithfully into the future.
• Because God specifically says to remember. (See Genesis 28:11-18; Exodus 17:14-15; Joshua 4:1-10; 1 Samuel 7:12)

We’ll also set up a notebook with a 3-ring binder, tabs, sheet protectors, and nine notebook categories for things related to our spiritual health.

When we’re organized, we can find what we need, deepen our current faith, and have fertile ground to plant new seeds.

.

Get Content and Community

You get access to these three spaces:

1. Library 
   This is is where all the video sessions will be kept. You will have lifetime access to all the sessions in the digital library + your own conference notebook with details on every session.
2. Lounge
   This is where community happens. It’s already open, so if you have a ticket, drop in now and say hello to fellow attendees. This is also where live Q&A sessions will happen with each speaker.
3. Livestream
   The Philippians keynote sessions with Katie Orr will be broadcast live each day of the conference at 9AM and 2PM EST. But they’ll also be recorded and added to the library if you can’t watch live.

I’m excited for it to get started!

* * *

If you sign up, please join me for a live Q&A in the Lounge on Tuesday, April 23, at 11am Eastern/10am Central Time! I’d love to chat and hear your ideas.

How do you best remember things? Please share in the comments.

]]> https://lisanotes.com/remember-the-lessons/feed/ 30 https://lisanotes.com/start-in-private/ https://lisanotes.com/start-in-private/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2018 10:00:28 +0000 https://www.lisanotes.com/?p=15138 Invisible? If nobody sees it, does it matter? Is it real? We live in an era of publicly-groomed lives. We carefully manage the image we reveal to the world. We… ]]>

Invisible?

If nobody sees it, does it matter? Is it real?

We live in an era of publicly-groomed lives. We carefully manage the image we reveal to the world. We photoshop our portraits; we filter our Instagram pics; we tidy up our Facebook posts.

But what are we really like behind the face we put out into the world? Who are we in private?

We often undervalue the importance of our private practices.

• If we won’t get public applause, do we want to do it?
• If there is no outward reward, do we exercise self-discipline?
• If we lack the desire to do it alone, do we forget it altogether?

What we often forget is this:

The outside stuff—the stuff that people see—is a direct result of our inner stuff.

What we think about and what we do and what we value when we’re alone will be reflected to the outside world when we’re together.

“And just as our bodies need daily refreshing, so do our souls.”
– Richard Rogers

Private Disciplines

Think about it spiritual terms. That’s what Rogers does in Holy Helps for a Godly Life. This week’s readings, chapters 4-6, begin focusing on the private spiritual disciplines as opposed to the public disciplines addressed in chapters 1-3.

“Therefore, without the private helps, the public are less profitable. For example, coming to church (the only way many know of serving God) cannot do that good to the best Christians which is to be looked for, if it is not accompanied with the private helps.”

To devote time to praying in private or meditating on truth, we first have to wake up to its value. Without a sense of its worth, we won’t do it.

Once we realize the importance of private practices, the more likely we’ll be to do them.

Make It Easier

Rogers suggests we can improve our private practices by making them easier.

• Set a time for your meditation.
• Read scripture or other spiritual books to prompt your thoughts.
• Pray about real things happening right in front of you.

Outward improvement begins from the inside. When we take care of the inner self, our outward self will show it.

“Holy meditation on our estate and on God’s bounty toward us frames us after God’s image. And this works great things in our hearts.”

When we invest ourselves in God in our private world, we’re more apt to notice his grace in our public world. We’re then better equipped to help others and to spread peace.

If we want to better love others in public ways, let’s begin in private.

* * *

Do you have a favorite spiritual discipline you do in private? How does it prepare you for public service? Please share in the comments.

Tim Challies is walking us through this Puritan book, Holy Helps for a Godly Life, a few chapters each week. Read about it on his blog and on his Facebook page.

]]> https://lisanotes.com/start-in-private/feed/ 22 https://lisanotes.com/public-prayer-stirs-up-grace/ https://lisanotes.com/public-prayer-stirs-up-grace/#comments Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:00:45 +0000 https://www.lisanotes.com/?p=15106 A Different Request I can tell this Saturday will be different. The lead church-of-the-month—it alternates every month—isn’t here. A hiccup in plans. But Fran has made sure all the bases… ]]>

A Different Request

I can tell this Saturday will be different.

The lead church-of-the-month—it alternates every month—isn’t here. A hiccup in plans.

But Fran has made sure all the bases are covered: there will be worship music; there will be a message from the Word; there will be food enough for all (thanks, Scruggs BBQ). Outdoor Church is important to our homeless and local underserved community. They gather at Manna House each month for this.

When I see Larry in charge, I also know it will be different. Larry is a humble pastor. He knows these folks by name. He sees their hearts and works in their lives and believes in a God who is bigger than every circumstance.

So when Larry says we will begin differently, I’m not too surprised. But when he says we’ll start by all praying aloud together, I know this is new for Outdoor Church.

I wonder about a couple of guys in the back. They are already rowdy. Others are still heads-down, talking to no one. Mixed in are “church people,” who know formal prayers and formal ways.

I’m not sure what the response will be to Larry’s request to “Let’s all pray at the same time out loud.”

Public Prayer as Grace

Prayer is a strange enough phenomena as it is.

• Why does God want our prayers anyway?
• Does he answer those who pray in doubt?
• Are repetitious prayers kicked out?

I’ve started reading a 500-year-old book (on my Kindle, the irony) about spiritual disciplines, including prayer. Tim Challies has invited us to read it together (join in—this is week 1!). It is Holy Helps for a Godly Life by Richard Rogers, a Puritan author, “the Enoch of his age.” It’s been revised this year for our modern ears.

While the overall focus of the book is on spiritual disciplines and grace, this week’s chapters (1-3) focus on three public means of grace: the ministry of the Word, the sacraments, and public prayers.

But the same practices are just as relevant now as in 1500.

There’s a fine line between doing to receive, and receiving to do.

“But godliness never flourishes unless it is planted in the fertile soil of God’s grace. Legalism subverts the gospel.”
– Brian G. Hedges (in the Preface, Holy Helps for a Godly Life)

So when offered to do one of these means of grace—public prayers—with the group on Saturday morning, I am eager to accept.

And I am curious to see what will happen in our ragtag group.

The Prayer that Stirs

Larry begins. Eyes close. And mouths open.

Little by little, I hear murmurings from those around me. I search my own heart and begin praying for my sweet friend Erma who is sitting beside me. We see each other often at Manna House. I know she has needs, like all of us, and I know she has faith. It is easy to pray for her.

As the minutes tick off, the crowd continues to chatter aloud to God. It is a beautiful noise. Then Larry gets louder again, with these words:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed by thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

And to my surprise, the crowd joins in full and strong. In sync and connected.

Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

It is a holy moment.

Amen.

There are those who claim public recitations of prayers are in vain. That prayers need to be spontaneous. That they need to be spoken one person at a time, in an orderly fashion, with somber tone and words.

But not on this Saturday morning.

“For if the content is erroneous, then the words pronounced do not make it good; and if the content is good and pure, then the reading cannot make it evil.”
– Richard Rogers

This cacophony of prayer is drenched in grace and received by faith. It is a divine gift of participation.

For at least these sacred moments, our crowd is a community. The rumble has become one voice. And there is an awareness of Presence stronger than has existed before.

Rogers is right:

“Let them resolve together what must be granted: that public prayers are a help to stir up God’s graces in us and to convey to us the many good blessings of God, which we need.”

Grace is stirred up. God’s many good blessings have arrived in us. We need them. Amen.

* * *

Join in at Tim Challies’ blog or his Facebook page for the first three (short) chapters of Holy Helps for a Godly Life. Then read a few more chapters for next Thursday’s discussion.

Do you participate in public prayers? When have you been particularly moved by a prayer offering? Please share in the comments.

How’s your spiritual life going?

Do you think you don’t do enough? Don’t read your Bible enough? Don’t even pray enough?

And if you get in the quantity, is your quality good enough?

These issues can haunt us as Christians.

• When a church near my house put “Centering Prayer—Wednesday Mornings” on their front billboard, I wondered if it would be a good thing for me to join or too weird?
• When a local monastery offered a Silent Prayer Retreat, I wondered if I could do that or would it drive me crazy?
• And when I read about mindfulness practices, I wondered if it was possible to do that 20 minutes a day with my Christian faith without being a Buddhist?

Ed Cyzewski addresses those kinds of questions in his latest book, Flee, Be Silent, Pray: An Anxious Evangelical Finds Peace with God through Contemplative Prayer, based on Henri Nouwen’s three actions in The Way of the Heart.

Ed pulls from a variety of sources (inspiring me to read more Thomas Merton books).

But he also shares very personally, drawing from his own background after a grudge (he resolves) with a restrictive Catholic Church and then a fight (he resolves this too) against an evangelical angst of doing things “right.”

While he doesn’t intend this book to be a how-to guide for prayer—he doesn’t want to add to a to-do list—he does offer many tangible suggestions on how we can pray more by praying differently.

“Evangelical anxiety focuses on results and progress, but God is more concerned about loving presence.”

Get Out of Your Own Way

Here are just a few of Ed’s suggestions on praying more contemplatively taken from his book.

1. Let go of your own words

We don’t always have to use our own words. We can still convey our own thoughts through the words of others. Too often we think God only wants our “freestyle” prayers, but he can be just as pleased when we pray a Psalm, for example.

• Pray with scripture.
• Use words Jesus prayed.
• Pray through others’ words written through the years.

“We have nothing to prove, to defend, or to fight for when we pray with the scriptures. We are only devoting ourselves to God. We aren’t in charge of producing results.”

~ * ~

“We don’t read the Bible in order to know ‘the Bible’ or to improve ourselves spiritually. We read the Bible in order to be present with God.”

~ * ~

“[Enter] into prayer with the foundational truth that God loves us. Prayer is the practice of becoming present for that love. We cannot impress God with our many words or few words.”

2. Examine your thoughts

Ed highly recommends using the Examen, a spiritual practice from St. Ignatius in the 1500’s.

• 1-Become aware of God’s presence.
• 2-Review the day with gratitude.
• 3-Pay attention to your emotions.
• 4-Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.
• 5-Look toward tomorrow.

Because of Ed’s passion  for practicing the Examen (after three months it “completely blew his mind”), I reloaded on my phone the Examine app that he recommends.

I also bookmarked the Divine Hours online after he suggested it. (See it here at Vineyard Church Ann Arbor.)

Praying through the Examen and the Divine Hours are ways to be present to God that Protestants don’t often use. But they are valuable, especially when they help us release our expectations of getting “results” from prayer.

3. Go quiet altogether

Try silence. Contemplative prayer invites us to let go of our words altogether. Our own words are often one of our biggest distractions.

“I have learned that while silence is something we can learn to value and even crave, it doesn’t happen by accident. It calls for intention and discipline supported by simple spiritual practices.”

Centering Prayer is one form of silent prayer that Ed explains as a “simple way to be lovingly present for God.”

Why Contemplative Prayer?

It realigns our expectations of what prayer can be.

“God’s Spirit is already in us, and we can’t improve on God’s presence. We can only improve on being present for God, turning away from our distractions.”

It’s not meant to necessarily replace other disciplines or forms of prayer, but as an addition to any spiritual practice.

“One evangelical generation after another earnestly studies the scriptures in search of Jesus, trying to get past the fact that Jesus said studying the scriptures is not the same thing as pursuing him.  Contemplative prayer gives us that path to pursue Jesus and Jesus alone.”

And my wonderings about the Centering Prayer group, the retreat at Sacred Heart Monastery, and the meditation practice?

I gave them all a try. And loved each one.

None were a slippery slope to anywhere except into more awareness of the presence of God.

A greater awareness of God is where I want to end up anyway.

“Each time I pause to become aware of God, face my thoughts, and look for the ways that God has been at work in my day, I open myself to God’s power and presence.”

I’m looking forward next to more mindfulness practice beginning Monday with my in-person book club. We’ll begin discussing The Power of Now, one of my favorites.

By trusting God with the present moment we’re in, we become more peaceful. We receive his grace more freely. We worry less about the past or about the future.

And that’s what I hear Ed affirming to us in his book about contemplative prayer.

“We have to train our minds to sit still and learn how to be fully present for God in the now. We won’t find God by dwelling on the regrets of the past or worrying about the future. If we want to find God, we must train ourselves to be in the present moment.”

Rest in the presence of God—there we find peace, transformation, and love.

* * *

Have you wondered about contemplative prayer also? Have you experimented with it? Please share in the comments.

You can connect with Ed at edcyzewski.com.

Read some of Ed’s blog posts about contemplative prayer:

• What Would God Shout at You from a Cloud?
• Is There Hope for Anxious, Doubting, and Burned Out Christians?
• Is Contemplative Prayer Dangerous? Evangelicals and the Fear of Contemplation

Ed’s other books are also great faith resources. I’ve benefited by all I’ve read. Here are just a few that I’ve shared about.

• The Contemplative Writer: Loving God through Christian Spirituality, Meditation, Daily Prayer, and Writing
• Pray, Write, Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together
• A Christian Survival Guide: A Lifeline to Faith and Growth
• Unfollowers: Unlikely Lessons on Faith from Those Who Doubted Jesus

Thanks to Ed for letting me read an advance copy.

A Doctor’s Visit

This isn’t why I meditate.

But this happened.

I was sitting across from my doctor in his office. We were discussing a small medical issue. He suggested a biopsy, just to rule out cancer.

But the procedure is very painful, he said.

I said okay anyway, thinking I’d schedule something in a few weeks.

Until he stood up and said, “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Oh! You mean do it right now?

I had no time to mentally prepare. To pray about it, research it, discuss it with Jeff.

It would be me and God on the fly.

I quickly slipped into meditation mode, an awareness of God’s presence in this moment, in this situation, inside of me.

And surprisingly, the very painful procedure was only minimally painful. I endured it much easier than they expected me to. (And, praise God, no cancer!)

I joked with the doctor afterwards:

Years of meditating have finally paid off!

But that’s not why I meditate.

Is Meditation Okay?

I used to think meditation was bad. I associated it with Eastern religions and saw no use for it in my Christian faith. I had been warned that emptying the mind is dangerous because it leaves the door open for bad things to enter in.

Then I learned about Centering Prayer; i.e., meditation. For 20 minutes a day, the practice is to close your eyes, be still, and just sit with God.

• Is it okay to take a break from thinking about problems, from being productive?
• Is it okay to be in the presence of God without seeking something from God?
• Is it okay to just sit with God awhile without straining to hear his words or to speak your own?

I find it perfectly okay . . . to sit quietly, surrounded by God’s love, with no agenda.

Thoughts come in those 20 minutes—always—but they don’t have to be held onto (I rarely succeed at totally letting go, but that’s okay).

It’s not about becoming empty, but about becoming quiet.

It’s about being still to know that God is God.

All About His Presence

Now I see meditation as respecting God’s presence as more important than anything on my to-do list. It’s one way I show him I value his company.

Can’t we also be aware of his presence while we’re on the go? Of course! And in the other 23 hours, 40 minutes, of the day, we can practice that. Centering prayer or meditation is a supplement to, not a replacement of, our running conversations and activities with God.

But for 20 minutes a day (or so—I rarely make it 4 days in a row—I’m always a beginner), I need to remind myself that God is in control and that the world won’t stop spinning if I just sit with him to refresh my spirit. It slows me down and restores my soul.

And for those times in a doctor’s room or elsewhere when pain surprises me unexpectedly or when circumstances begin spinning out of control?

I can escape to calmness, even if just a little and for only a minute, into that spiritual space that I hold open for just me and God.

Genuine friendship belongs to those who can sit together in silence and still feel love.

* * *

My favorite book on Centering Prayer: The Path of Centering Prayer by David Frenette

My favorite meditation app: Insight Timer

More Reading:

• How to Meditate
• 3 Practices for Paying Closer Attention to God
• Can You Be Quiet?
• Ain’t Nobody Got Time fo’ Dat

Please share your thoughts in the comments.