Welcome to Responding With Prayer,
An opportunity to respond to the complex everyday experiences that lift us up and bring us down.
My name is Jess and I've struggled with attending to prayer and I hope this little offering brings you closer to the creator.
Today's meditation is on the seasons of our life's journey.
To start,
Let's take five big breaths together.
Deep breathing.
Breathing has been studied and found to change how we engage stress and situations.
It is good for slowing down,
Preparing for prayer,
But also good as a practice for all kinds of situations we find ourselves in.
So take just one minute to just feel your body breathe.
And rest.
You That was literally 60 seconds If your mind went to other places just now Or happens throughout this time That's okay It's natural and you're still here.
So let's move on Take one moment to identify person or situation That you are grateful for as you do this Take a moment and out loud or in your head Express gratitude to God for that person or situation Many people have used the physical changes of the season as a metaphor for the life and spiritual changes that we go through Often it's helpful to identify if I'm in a season of growth or stagnation A season of work or a season of rest A season of mourning or a season of celebration None of these seasons are more right or more spiritual than others Historic Christian spiritual teachers have taught us to look for God and for growth in each of these seasons uniquely Especially the ones that don't feel as productive Our bodies are an important part of prayer So if you're able,
Extend your arms out and turn your palms up in a posture of release to the creator The scriptures often tell us of a very practical spiritual opportunity Cast your cares towards the divine So imagine you wrote the descriptors of this season on the palms of your hands as an act of submission What words would be there?
God,
We place into your hands these things on our hands We give to you the dynamics of this season and its impact on our lives and our loves Let's turn our focus as we pull our hands back to our bodies Of giving ourselves to the season that we find ourselves in What if we order our lives to maximize the moment in time that God has given us What commitments would we need to make?
How about sharing the season you are in with others?
Or creating some goals for the season?
Or maybe it's simply the acknowledgement and acceptance of this season The changing of spiritual and life seasons empower our purpose Because it focuses us to reflect on the divine act that is guiding our lives Often outside of our comfort zones and often outside of our control So in prayer,
We slow down and make commitments to our core foundations Spend a minute expressing to God how whatever season you are in is actually giving you life and what freedoms you want to live into Spend a minute expressing to God how whatever season you are in is actually giving you life and what freedoms you want to live into God,
We accept the freedom that comes with submission to you.
We often fight against the very abundant life that you have for us.
So we accept the grace of this season.
All it is doing in us and through us and all that it is teaching us.
Now taking time to date not change the season you are in.
It may have changed your orientation towards it.
You may need to take some greater steps of faithfulness to address this season.
But the great spiritual writers in the Christian tradition have often maintained that prayer's greatest gift is not that it suddenly changes our situations or our seasons,
But that often it changes us.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
You you
