Prayer
Silence and God not 'being there'...
02/12/07 18:21
A story about silence...A woman who had
been using the Jesus Prayer for fourteen years complained that she
had never had any sense that God was there. But when she had it
pointed out to her that she was talking all the time, she agreed to
take her stand silently for a few days. As she was doing it she
became aware that God was there, that the silence that surrounded
her was not emptiness, absence of noise and agitation, but that
there was a solidity to this silence, that it was not something
negative, but positive, a presence, the presence of God who had
made himself known to her by creating the same silence in her. And
then she discovered that the prayer came up quite naturally again,
but it was no longer the sort of discursive noise that had
prevented God from making himself known. (Living Prayer by
Metropolitan Anthony Bloom DLT 1966) I like it that God created the
same silence in the woman as surrounded her... Andrew
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brand sense and 'Here's to the people behind the numbers'
16/03/07 12:58
The other week I went to listen to Simon Harrop, Executive Director of BRAND sense agency. He was saying that in the 70's people would remember around 25% of the TV ads they saw, now it's only around 5% - so he's promoting use of the other non-visual senses in advertising, particularly 'smell' and 'ritual'. Apparently people used to enjoy sliding their fingernail down the foil between two pieces of the KitKat chocolate bar to break into it - and that was a ritual - lost when the wrappers became plastic. Have you heard/seen the new Yellow Pages ad? It's both ritualistic and deeply spiritual; 'here's to the people behind the numbers' (watch it here) - slowly, repetitively, the advert honours different people - it's almost a prayer. And apparently, suggests Harrop, we use vision and audio to screen stuff out, but smell, touch and taste to engage. So why not include a little ritual and multi-sensory in your prayer times? Light some incense, use some oil to prayerfully anoint yourself/a friend, light a candle, begin your prayer time with ritual eg. 'In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit'. Seems there's some sense in the ancient traditions after all...
Anglican Prayer Bead Confirmation Experience
21/09/06 12:03
I sat on the beach at Tenby making
knotted Anglican Prayer Cords for our
Confirmation Group - there are two adults (63 yrs and 38 yrs) and 3 young
people (12yrs). On our last session before the service, we had a practice and
then spent some time with God.
We started with an explanation and then we sang. We said the Lord's prayer on
the Cross, 'May the words of my mouth' etc on the invitatory bead, 'Jesus Lamb
of God, have mercy on me, a sinner' on the single beads - they repeated after me
rather than have it on a bit of paper, then on each group of seven beads, we prayed in
turn for the world, the church - worldwide, our parish, congregation, the
people that had told us about God; our family and friends - the people who
loved us, we loved, who encouraged us to be here; ourselves - our journey with
God, the service; and then back to the invitatory and Lord's Prayer. We
finished with anointing and another song.
It was a really good time together with God - there was that quiet and stillness
and unwillingness to move or break the silence which comes from having been in
the presence of God. Chandy
Confirmation Group - there are two adults (63 yrs and 38 yrs) and 3 young
people (12yrs). On our last session before the service, we had a practice and
then spent some time with God.
We started with an explanation and then we sang. We said the Lord's prayer on
the Cross, 'May the words of my mouth' etc on the invitatory bead, 'Jesus Lamb
of God, have mercy on me, a sinner' on the single beads - they repeated after me
rather than have it on a bit of paper, then on each group of seven beads, we prayed in
turn for the world, the church - worldwide, our parish, congregation, the
people that had told us about God; our family and friends - the people who
loved us, we loved, who encouraged us to be here; ourselves - our journey with
God, the service; and then back to the invitatory and Lord's Prayer. We
finished with anointing and another song.
It was a really good time together with God - there was that quiet and stillness
and unwillingness to move or break the silence which comes from having been in
the presence of God. Chandy
How to tie an Orthodox Prayer Rope
24/08/06 23:25
If you're feeling adventurous, I'm
grateful to Brett, who sent me his link on How to tie an Orthodox Prayer Rope.
MP3 Prayer - iPod Prayer
03/06/06 11:41
to answer my question...
03/06/06 10:52
...does the gathering have to be
physically together, or can it be spiritual and from a
distance? I came across the Focolare
movement years ago, and they opened my eyes to the reality that you
can be 'gathered' in the intention and attitude of the presence of
Jesus, of being 'in his name' with someone with whom you are not
physically present. It can be a source of great strength...
Andrew
the three time rule...
14/02/06 17:45
A friend sent me a text message to say
that she'd been led to pray for me for the last two days. I'd
actually been having a difficult time and I feel very moved that
God would inspire someone to do that for me. Nigel Mumford in his
book
Hand to Hand: From Combat to Healing
writes, 'I
pray for particular people when they come to mind, and often find
later that there was a real need on that particular occasion. I
follow 'the three time rule:' when someone comes to mind three
times, I call or visit to see if something is wrong. Often I find
that God has communicated a friend's need.' The knots on a
Prayer Rope or Rosary Beads can be used to represent and remind us
of those for whom we want to pray.
writes, 'I
pray for particular people when they come to mind, and often find
later that there was a real need on that particular occasion. I
follow 'the three time rule:' when someone comes to mind three
times, I call or visit to see if something is wrong. Often I find
that God has communicated a friend's need.' The knots on a
Prayer Rope or Rosary Beads can be used to represent and remind us
of those for whom we want to pray.
pearls of life now in the UK
08/12/05 18:47
Pearls of Life and the Lord's Prayer...
20/10/05 17:43
Then I came across Andii Bowsher's blog 'anamchairde' on the Paternoster Rosary by happy coincidence - and now I notice that Lonnebo has written about the connection between the Pearls of Life and the Lord's (way of) Prayer - see the July Word of the Month on the first pearl of Love.
Physical focus for prayer...
20/10/05 17:39
I use the Prayer cord to help me
focus. It's physical - the feel of the knots in my hand help my
mind not to wander. You don't have to say a lot of stuff; there's a
stilling quality about doing it - it's about being in the presence
of God in stillness.
I start off with the Cross. I normally say the Lord's Prayer, then I say either 'Lord have mercy' or 'Lord have mercy on me, a sinner'. On each knot I pray for a friend or family member. In the gaps between knots I say 'Lord have mercy'. I'm just holding the person in my hand before God asking God to remember them. I know that God takes over the burden even if I don't stop being concerned about them. CHANDY
I start off with the Cross. I normally say the Lord's Prayer, then I say either 'Lord have mercy' or 'Lord have mercy on me, a sinner'. On each knot I pray for a friend or family member. In the gaps between knots I say 'Lord have mercy'. I'm just holding the person in my hand before God asking God to remember them. I know that God takes over the burden even if I don't stop being concerned about them. CHANDY