Meeting God in Prayer
All prayer begins with God.
Our prayers are merely a response to God’s call to us.
It is the fundamental way that we express our relationship with God.
So we shouldn’t pray because we think it works
or because we think we should.
We should pray because we can.
Whenever we respond to God’s love, we are in prayer.
Our prayers are merely a response to God’s call to us.
It is the fundamental way that we express our relationship with God.
So we shouldn’t pray because we think it works
or because we think we should.
We should pray because we can.
Whenever we respond to God’s love, we are in prayer.
Whether it's appealing to the senses, using different postures, discovering prayer tools, or engaging in activities that are fashioned to bring you closer to God, the prayer stations set up each week in the Chapel are meant for your individual use to deepen your spiritual practice during this holy season. Stop in anytime the church is open, or before or after worship. New stations are set up on Thursday each week.
"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply." Matthew 6:7-8, The Message |
Be still and know that I am God
Fr. Richard Rohr's prayer comes from Psalm 46:10 of the Hebrew Scriptures:
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Use this prayer to try and draw yourself and
others into a contemplative frame of mind.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Use this prayer to try and draw yourself and
others into a contemplative frame of mind.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
The video was created by The Work of the People.
For more click on the link.
For more click on the link.
Three Minute Prayer
You don't need to wait until Sunday to experience Sabbath.
You don't need to wait until the weekend to go on retreat.
How about right now? Right where you are?
Try the 3 Minute Retreat. A new one is posted each day.
You don't need to wait until the weekend to go on retreat.
How about right now? Right where you are?
Try the 3 Minute Retreat. A new one is posted each day.
Prayer FlagsThe belief is that as these prayers are blown by the wind, as they become frayed
and tattered, the prayers bless the world. The wind carries the blessing into small villages and into bustling cities, into war-torn nations and to peaceful people. The wind carries a prayer of strength to that widow mourning the death of her husband. The breeze blows blessing into that home and over that newborn baby boy resting in the arms of his mother. |
Prayer BeadsWhatever their origins may be, we know that many faiths have used them to
practice devotion and meditation based on pattern and repetition.So go for it. Be creative and craft your own instrument of prayer. Then let your hands guide you into mystery and meditation. An experience with God is literally at your fingertips! |
Praying the Hours
Fixed-hour prayer is the oldest form of Christian spiritual discipline and has its roots in the Judaism out of which Christianity came. When the Psalmist says, “Seven times a day do I praise You,” he is referring to fixed-hour prayer as it existed in ancient Judaism. We do not know the hours that were appointed in the Psalmist’s time for those prayers. By the turn of the era, however, the devout had come to punctuate their work day with prayers on a regimen that followed the flow of Roman commercial life.
Forum bells began the work day at six in the morning (prime, or first hour),
sounded mid-morning break at nine (terce, or third hour),
the noon meal and siesta or break at twelve (sext, or sixth hour),
the re-commencing of trade at three (none, or ninth hour),
and the close of business at six (vespers).
With the addition of evening prayers
and early prayers upon arising,
the structure of fixed-hour prayer was established in a form
that is very close to that which Christians still use today.
Fixed-hour prayer is also commonly referred to as “the divine offices” or “the liturgy of the hours,” During the last years of the twentieth century, there came an increasing push on the part of many Christians to return to the liturgy, or work, of being Church on earth. The observance of fixed-hour prayer began to emerge once more as the desired discipline for more and more Christians.
Forum bells began the work day at six in the morning (prime, or first hour),
sounded mid-morning break at nine (terce, or third hour),
the noon meal and siesta or break at twelve (sext, or sixth hour),
the re-commencing of trade at three (none, or ninth hour),
and the close of business at six (vespers).
With the addition of evening prayers
and early prayers upon arising,
the structure of fixed-hour prayer was established in a form
that is very close to that which Christians still use today.
Fixed-hour prayer is also commonly referred to as “the divine offices” or “the liturgy of the hours,” During the last years of the twentieth century, there came an increasing push on the part of many Christians to return to the liturgy, or work, of being Church on earth. The observance of fixed-hour prayer began to emerge once more as the desired discipline for more and more Christians.
Praying with IconsChristians who use icons do not worship the wood itself or the paint or the gold. Instead they pray with their eyes wide open so they can take in the mysteries of God revealed in the icon. Icons are called "windows into heaven" and "windows into the divine." The hope is that praying with icons might provide just a glimpse of the throne of heaven.
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Meditation
The world's major religious traditions—Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, and Judaism—all teach practices that might be called meditation. Not all traditions refer to these disciplines as "meditation," but they all recommend some form of calming the mind and body to gain insight and wisdom or to communicate with the god. "Be still," writes the Psalmist, "and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
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