Lent Practices – Week 3 – 2.27.2018

THEME: Subtracting our Shadow, Finding our Life

BREATH PRAYER: Lord, help me bring my shadow into the light.

CENTERING:

He called the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves …”
Mark 8:34

SETTLING IN:

• In a journal, note the day, time, and place you’re sitting.
• Open with silence. Set a timer for 1, 3, or 5 minutes so you can be free to 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:
HUMILITY

The practice of humility speaks directly to the subtraction of our shadow: a cheap imitation of the truth of who we really are in Christ. As Andrew Murray said in his book Humility, “Humility is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God.”

The process (yes … it is a process) of humility requires God-breathed reflection on those places where we live from our shadows. Today we will prayerfully reflect on what Adele Calhoun calls our “image management quotient.” Ask the Lord’s guidance through the questions below and journal your thoughts:

• Do I spin details in stories to make myself look better?
• How does my social media presence compare to the “me” that God sees?
• If I lost my job, how would I feel about myself?
• When I am introduced to others, what do I hope comes up in the conversation?
• If my child got suspended from school because of behavioral issues, would I avoid talking to other parents for a while?

Spend 2-3 minutes meditating on the following verse, and then pray that the Lord would guide you away from your shadow and into His truth of who you are.

“My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious Christ-originated faith.”
James 2:1, The Message

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

Closing: Lord, help me bring my shadow into the light.