Advent Practices – Week 3 – Day 4

THEME: RADICAL GENEROSITY

BREATH PRAYER: LORD, GIVE ME JOY IN BLESSING OTHERS THROUGH RADICAL GENEROSITY.

CENTERING:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”
Philippians 2:3

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:
PRAYER OF RECOLLECTION

For a short form of this exercise, follow the prompts in italics.

Do not let the name “Prayer of Recollection” confuse you. This is not a prayer of remembering. The Prayer of Recollection is a prayer aimed at re-collecting your soul.  As Adele Calhoun says in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, “A recollected soul is the opposite of a distracted, fragmented soul … because it is natural for the mind to make random associations and wander off in a million directions, we need a prayer that recalls our soul to its center in God.”

The Prayer of Recollection is a gift to the chronically distracted. Considering that we are only a few days from Christmas, it is a great way for us to step out of the chaos of the season and bring ourselves back to Christ.

• Pause and get quiet with the Lord. Acknowledge to Him that yours is a distracted and fragmented soul. Ask Him to gather up those pieces of of your scattered life and recollect your soul.
  • Short form: Pause and get quiet with the Lord. Acknowledge to Him that yours is a distracted and fragmented soul. Ask Him to gather up those pieces of of your scattered life and recollect your soul.

• For at least 10 minutes, rest before the Lord and enjoy His presence. If your mind begins to wander off in some direction, write down a word that summarizes that distraction. Breathe deeply, let the thought go, and return to resting in Him. Repeat this sequence for as many times as you feel your mind wander.
  • Short form: For at least 3 minutes, rest before the Lord and enjoy His presence. If your mind begins to wander off in some direction, write down one word that summarizes that distraction. Breathe deeply, let the thought go, and return to resting in Him. Repeat this sequence for as many times as you feel your mind wander.

• Now, look at the words that you wrote down. What stands out to you? Are there any common themes? Where is your mind prone to wander? Take these words to Jesus and ask Him what He would have you know about them.
  • Short form: Choose one of the distractions that you wrote down and invite Jesus to look at that distraction with you. Ask Him what He wants to say to you about the distraction and write down any thoughts that come to mind in your journal. After that, give the distraction to Him and thank Jesus that you can cast your cares on Him.

• Release control of your entire list of distractions to the Lord. Rest in Him once more, and enjoy the stillness of His presence.

Summary: Write in your journal a brief summary (five sentences or less) of your practice.

Closing: Lord, give me joy in blessing others through radical generosity.