Lent Practices – Week 3 – 3.1.2018

THEME: Subtracting our Shadow, Finding our Life

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

CENTERING:

Teach me, and I will be silent.
Job 6:24

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:
SILENCE

The world in which we live abhors silence, which is why we so desperately need this practice. Silence allows us to remove the distractions and simply be with our Creator.  In the silence, we embrace the beauty of what we can’t do:

• In silence, I can’t impress God with my words. I accept that He delights in me.
• In silence, I can’t “do” for God. I accept His rest as a gift to me.
• In silence, I can’t plead my case to God. I accept that it is futile to plead my case when forgiveness is given to me through Christ.
• In silence, I can’t try to bend God to fit my agenda. I accept that His agenda is perfect as I trust His goodness.

Set a timer for 10-15 minutes to help keep you from watching the clock so you can be more present with the Lord. Invite Him into this time with you, then breathe and listen. If your mind begins to wander, just let the thoughts pass as you would a car on the road. With each passing thought, return to your silence and enjoy His presence. After your time, journal about your experience.

• • Was my time of silence harder or easier than expected? Why?
  • Do I feel physically or emotionally different after my time of silence?
  • Did something come to the surface of my soul that I was not expecting?

Choose 3 more times today that you will pause for silence with the Lord. Set reminders on your calendar for a 3-5 minute time of silence at different points in your day. During those times, invite the Lord to join you wherever you may be and thank Him for His presence in the “normal” parts of your day.

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.