Here again is Merton’s definition of prayer: “prayer then means yearning for the simple presence of God, for a personal understanding of God’s word, for knowledge of God’s will, and for the capacity to hear and obey God.” There are five important points to consider.
- The first is that we focus on the presence of God. We need to direct our attention to our readiness and presence to the sacred.
- Secondly, we bring God’s Word into our mind seeking its meaning and relevance for us.
- Thirdly, our pondering will hopefully lead us to a sense of what God wants of us.
- Fourthly we bring this insight to our life so God’s word speaks to us and leads us forward.
- In the fifth step, we live in obedience to God’s call. Prayer is all about life and the way we live.
Lectio Divina is a prayerful reading of the Bible, or at times, reflection on a profound personal experience. Here I will briefly use Lectio Divina as one practical method of prayer that can to lead one to a concrete experience of prayer. As we begin deep personal prayer, the first item is to gather ourselves so we can pay attention to the fact that we are in the loving presence of God.
The initial atmosphere for prayer is important. We need to minimize distractions by seeking the most silence and solitude that is a practical reality for us. For some, a candle or incense or a religious art are helpful. We need to be aware of who it is we are encountering. Secondly, prayer always has to be rooted in love responding to love. Thirdly, prayer needs to come from a heart yearning for faithfulness to love.
We are trying to make connection with God in the depths of our heart.
The heart is the deepest truth about us. The Bible speaks of the heart almost a thousand times. It is the heart that is the source of prayer. The heart is where we encounter our most real self.
The four steps of Lectio Divina are reading, reflecting, responding and resting. The first steps, reading and the reflection, may take the majority of the time in the first stages of this new personal prayer. However, the job of reading and reflection is to bring us to a deeper sense of God’s presence. The last two steps are praying with an open heart and resting in silence in the loving presence of the one we know loves us.
In prayer, we are gathering all our faculties to pay attention to the intimate presence of God. We are seeking communion, to be one with God. We have a sense of a sacred presence calling us to life in love. This experience of deep personal prayer seeks to clarify the will of God in the concrete reality of our daily experience. True prayer empowers us to bring God’s love to our life in service of the Kingdom.
“Listen, I am standing at the door knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev 3:20)
The single greatest obstacle to prayer is not to begin. Another is the relentless attack of distractions. The resolution of distractions is an on-going problem that needs much attention but ultimately it is a return to our focal point.
The Parable of the Lost Treasure
One of the parables of the Gospels helps us delve more profoundly into the search for deep personal prayer. It is the parable of the Lost Treasure (Mt 13:44-46). There are three steps in this parable: finding the treasure, selling all we have, and buying the field.The “finding” originates from a sense of hunger in the depths of the heart, a feeling of incompleteness. There is an acknowledgement that life holds more than what we have. In the “finding”, we often experience God’s love for us in our brokenness.
The “selling” is about making a commitment to pray. This costs us our time and comfort. Creating a schedule, building an atmosphere, and discovering and practicing a method of prayer all come at a cost: self-sacrifice. What we are doing is making space for God by letting go on God’s terms.
The “buying” brings us to the practice of prayer in a regular and disciplined part of our lifestyle. The parable reflects the repeating message of the Scriptures. We need to let go and let God. We need to lose control in abandonment to the unrelenting call of the Hound of Heaven.
All prayer must begin with a sense of the loving presence of God. The material we read, the thoughts that lead to reflection almost always have a spark of light, sometimes quite intense. This touches our spirit and calls us to change. This is our own metro center that carries us from the mind to the heart and into life.
Prayer is about how we live not how we feel. Most often, God gives beginners at prayer a sense of peace and progress. Gradually, God weans us from the beautiful feelings to sharpen our focus away from ourselves and towards God.
