I shared some about my Labyrinth experience in the service. Between
the prayer emphasis at church and my seminary classes, I have been
given the opportunity to learn about and participate in many types of
prayer during this season of Lent. I still struggle though with the
same issue... RUSHING.
I will try to focus on praying and have a plan set in mind, but
then when I start to pray, I feel like I need to rush to get to the
next task. I try to make prayer fit into the same pattern that
everything else in my days fits into. For example, as I'm writing
this, I am having to use considerable effort not to rush through to
the next item on my to-do list.
This is what the Labyrinth experience did for me. It gave me a
sacred span of time in which I could focus on prayer. Walking to the
rhythm of my breath was getting me nowhere fast!! So, I took the time
to focus on what I was saying to God and open myself to hearing what
God was saying to me.
One of my professors this semester begins every section of the
class with 5 minutes of silence. And when she says silence, she means
no movement, reading, writing... nothing other than prayer and
contemplation. No, taking a quick nap doesn't count either. Talk
about uncomfortable! The first time she did it, I thought it would
NEVER end. Then, I started being creative and placing something to
read in a place that it was easily seen. Then I could cheat and read.
The last few times, I have really tried not to cheat. I still think 5
minutes may be stretching it for me, but it really does have a calming
effect on me to take a pause to focus on God and open myself to
listening.
Reflecting on this in order to share with you really made me think
that I may need to do these activities more often. I will look forward
to the series on prayer that Phil will be leading in April. Maybe I
will find a way to add a little SLOW into my prayer life.
The handout of the Labyrinth is available on the Files tab to your
right. I encourage you to try the Labyrinth. It is available in the
weight room until Easter. If you can't make it to Labyrinth, maybe you
can try silence. Share your experiences with all of us in the group.

Breath Prayer

As we move forward with our time of prayer emphasis, I wanted to present you a method that I have used to help me with prayer. I think that sometimes we get caught in thinking that we have to take a lot of time to pray and that turns us off or makes it hard for us. While God wants to be in communion with us, He also wants us to talk to Him often, but we think that with our busy lives that it is hard to take time out of our day to pray and especially pray for a long period of time.

Once of the things that I do to help me with prayer is what is called a breath prayer. It is a simple one sentence prayer that I can use through out the day to draw close to God. Breath has always been symbolic with the Holy Spirit so I think about how when I am doing my breath prayer that I am inviting the Holy Spirit to work inside of me.

You start off my thinking of the name of God that you want to use. It could be God, Father, Creator, Comforter, Healer, Sustainer, Holy, Jesus, Christ, or whatever makes you feel comfortable and draws you close to God. Then ask God what you need (Be honest. But be real.). Maybe you need rest, healing, comfort, direction, or something else. Then put the two together. Christ, give me wisdom today. Creator, please comfort me. Father, please draw me close to you. Sustainer, give me what I need for today. You get the picture. If you start it, you will find that it will come in handle during the day and will change the way that you look at things.

Maybe when you get stopped at that red light you call out to God with your breath prayer. When someone says something unpleasant to you or someone cuts you off in traffic, you use your breath prayer. Maybe you just need a little recharge, use your breath prayer. It will shape you and transform you if you give it a chance. It has for me and I hope you will let it do the same for you.

Jim Whitaker

To respond to this blog go to the Connections Google Group where I have started a conversation called Prayer Emphasis and join in the discussion.