Advent Practices – Week 1 – Day 5
THEME: SAMPLING AND IMAGINING
BREATH PRAYER: LORD, HELP ME SEE WHAT YOU SEE AND IMAGINE WHAT WILL BE.
CENTERING:
“The wolf and the lamb will graze together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox;
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
Isaiah 65:25
SETTLING IN:
- In a journal, note the day, time, and place you’re sitting.
- Open with a few moments of silence. Rest, and breathe deeply.
- Complete the following sentence in your journal: Today, I feel ________________.
- Read the centering verse above slowly (aloud or silently).
Pause for a few moments of silence, then pray this week’s breath prayer.
PRACTICE:
REFLECTION
Find a quiet place to stop and prayerfully reflect over your previous week.
- Open your journal and look back over what you have written for the past four days. If you haven’t written in a journal, scroll back through the past four days of practices and quickly remember what you experienced each day.
- In today’s journal entry, write a brief summary of what you have experienced this week in your spiritual practices. Take note of what surprised you, what you learned, or where you experienced resistance or frustration.
- This week, our prayer was that God would help us see what He sees and imagine what will be. As you reflect over the past five days, do you see any instances of Him doing this for you? Did you sense God directing your thoughts toward ways in which He is at work in the world? Did He lead you toward a situation or person you might have otherwise missed? No matter how small or insignificant they might seem, these moments are answers to your prayer. Write them down, and thank God for giving You this grace.
- Take a moment to look at your calendar the upcoming week. As you do so, notice what you are excited about in the coming week, as well as anything that makes you anxious.
- Offer your upcoming week to God, inviting Him to be with you in each event. Give Him thanks for the times you look forward to, and ask Him to provide you peace in the fearful events.
- As you close in prayer, thank God for walking with you this week, for helping you see as He sees and imagining what will be.
