We tend to confuse the issue of prayer when we narrow it down to merely speaking words. The concept behind phrases like, "I'll consider it prayerfully," denotes the deeper meaning of prayer.
This is why many of us who are moving into a whole life, a Jesus life rather than a 'church life,' use terms like meditation and contemplation, to denote the deeper aspects of prayer.
Christ is in us and we are in him, but are we aware of it? Where is the awareness of our presence focused? Is our presence asleep as our old self, as our old broken fallen man 'runs the show'?
These are things we learn through meditation and contemplation.
My goal, and I'm intentional about it, is to come into the living abiding presence of God.
Now if I have to start all over a thousand times a day, that's O.K. It's a journey, this spiritual life, not getting it down perfect. It's not a performance. I leave the perfection up to God. I have little experience in just how perfect, perfect can be.
My goal is to bring this broken mess of a man into the presence of God. And that takes the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God through Jesus.
Now Jesus tells us to 'abide in the vine', and that takes presence.
Where is your presence dwelling right now? It can be sorting through your past, or caught up in your future. Some of it may be dealing with your past, worrying about your future, and be here at the same time. But until you bring 'the light', or focus of your awareness right here into this moment, until your awareness is fully here, you aren't ready to pray, much less to 'enter in'. You're working out of a fractured self until you gather yourself up and just be present. This is the beginning of wholeness.
This is what our daily spiritual practice is all about. To wake us up and plug us in. Make it simple or make it complex. This is my goal, my awaken awareness of presence. How else could we enter into God's presence? while part of us is somewhere else? How else could we walk or live in the Holy Spirit? It's spiritual life, abundant life, eternal life we're dealing with here. Let's avail ourselves of God's gift.
This is why many of us who are moving into a whole life, a Jesus life rather than a 'church life,' use terms like meditation and contemplation, to denote the deeper aspects of prayer.
God wants to love us more than anything else. The deepest and most intimate form of love is our co-dwelling presence with him.
Christ is in us and we are in him, but are we aware of it? Where is the awareness of our presence focused? Is our presence asleep as our old self, as our old broken fallen man 'runs the show'?
These are things we learn through meditation and contemplation.
My goal, and I'm intentional about it, is to come into the living abiding presence of God.
Now if I have to start all over a thousand times a day, that's O.K. It's a journey, this spiritual life, not getting it down perfect. It's not a performance. I leave the perfection up to God. I have little experience in just how perfect, perfect can be.
My goal is to bring this broken mess of a man into the presence of God. And that takes the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God through Jesus.
Now Jesus tells us to 'abide in the vine', and that takes presence.
Where is your presence dwelling right now? It can be sorting through your past, or caught up in your future. Some of it may be dealing with your past, worrying about your future, and be here at the same time. But until you bring 'the light', or focus of your awareness right here into this moment, until your awareness is fully here, you aren't ready to pray, much less to 'enter in'. You're working out of a fractured self until you gather yourself up and just be present. This is the beginning of wholeness.
This is what our daily spiritual practice is all about. To wake us up and plug us in. Make it simple or make it complex. This is my goal, my awaken awareness of presence. How else could we enter into God's presence? while part of us is somewhere else? How else could we walk or live in the Holy Spirit? It's spiritual life, abundant life, eternal life we're dealing with here. Let's avail ourselves of God's gift.
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