When you need fresh inspiration for adoring God in prayer

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say, how to adore God in a way that doesn’t sound trite or rehearsed, or like we’re simply going through the motions. Sometimes we need a little help. One great way is to read scripture, and pray out of our response to it. But there are other ways of creatively meeting God in prayer.

Recently I was leading prayer at church and I brought along a few objects to provide a little inspiration. Feathers, stones, gift tags, sprigs of rosemary and some crocheted hearts.

I invited people to come and take one or more of the objects and to spend a few minutes listening and reflecting on what God was showing them about himself or about what he has done. Then I invited people to pray their responses aloud.

It was wonderful to see how the Lord used those ordinary items to inspire fresh expressions of adoration to him.

For myself I chose a stone and a heart. As I held them in my hand I was reminded that God is my Rock, that Jesus is the precious cornerstone and a sure foundation. I was reminded of how much he loves me. The two items side by side reminded me of how God removes the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh.

Have you ever tried anything like this? If not, consider collecting one or two ordinary items from around your house or garden.

Spend a few minutes holding an item in your hands. Pay attention to what it feels like – smooth or rough, soft or hard – feel the weight of it in your hand. Notice the colours, patterns and the details. If it has a scent (like the rosemary we used) then smell it. You may want to rub it between your fingers or bruise it to draw out the fragrance. If your item is edible you might want to taste it.

Whatever you notice, whatever the Lord shows you, use that to reflect praise and adoration back to him.

If you try this out, or if it’s a normal practice for you, I’d love to hear about your experience. Please share in the Comments.

Monthly Musings: November

Where has the year gone? No really, where has it gone? November seems to have passed by at the speed of light. What to say about it?

My nephew started walking and celebrated his first birthday – in that order. Woohoo! There’ll be no stopping him now.

I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer. About what it means and what it looks like. What it means for me. What it means for the church. Recently I came across this wonderful description of prayer by Michael Hollings and Etta Gullick*:

The important thing about prayer is that it is almost indefinable. You see, it is: hard and sharp, soft and loving, deep and inexpressible, shallow and repetitious, a groaning and a sighing.

A silence and a shouting, a burst of praise digging deep down into loneliness, into me. Loving. Abandonment to despair, a soaring to heights which can be only ecstasy, dull plodding in the greyness of mediocre being – laziness, boredom, resentment.

Questing and questioning, calm reflection, meditation, cogitation. A surprise at sudden joy, a shaft of light, a laser beam. Irritation at not understanding, impatience, pain of mind and body hardly uttered or deeply anguished.

Being together, the stirring of love shallow, then deeper, then deepest. A breathless involvement, a meeting, a longing, a loving, an inpouring.

Watch this space, because I still have a lot to learn about prayer and I’d like to invite you along on the journey with me.

This month I also discovered the rose garden and the labyrinth at the Waite Aboretum. The first time it was filled with people and children. This last Sunday I returned and was able to walk the labyrinth on my own, the birds singing in the trees my musical accompaniment.

And I was reminded of the joy of thanksgiving, especially in the company and community of others.

*quoted in A silence and a shouting: meditations and prayers by Eddie Askew.

What has November looked like for you?

31 Days: Listening to Lessons from The Wrong Book

The thing about listening to God is that his methods are not always predictable. Sometimes he speaks in ways that are as unexpected as they are profound. One of those occasions for me came through The Wrong Book by Nick Bland.

Yes, The Wrong Book. It’s a children’s book. A children’s picture book.

It’s the story of a boy named Nicholas Ickle. At least it’s meant to be his story…

Here’s the interactive iPad version wonderfully narrated by Frank Woodley. Please take a few minutes to enjoy the book before you read on.

What I learnt from The Wrong Book

So here’s my grown-up take on this wonderful story. Nicholas Ickle has a plan. This book is about him. Except that all these page-crashers, these uninvited book guests, keep showing up to spoil his plan. And that makes him angry because his expectation of telling his story is not being met.

But Nicholas Ickle is still telling his story, because surely he is a little boy who dreams of elephants and monsters, pirates and puppets. That’s why they came. They may be in the Wrong Book but they show us something of Nicholas Ickle anyway. The book is still about Nicholas, just not in the way he imagined.

Isn’t that what life can be like for us? Our perfect plans for our lives never seem to quite work out that way. All the interruptions, the unexpected people and events that show up in our lives, mess up our schedules and feed our plans through the shredder. We don’t see that they are still part of our story; we only see that things aren’t the way we planned them.

We have a choice though, to embrace the book-crashers in our lives. To forgive the intrusion, to allow them to enrich our story, to teach us new things, to make new friends, to grow, to love. To even be grateful for their presence. Our story is still our story.

And something else…

I noticed how much my thought life, my prayer life, can look like Nicholas Ickle and The Wrong Book. Uninvited thoughts; things I call distractions come in unwanted. Resented even. They detour me away from where I thought I was going. They’re messy or ugly, self-seeking, petulant or just plain off the point.

I don’t want to embrace them; they’re off the plan. I’m angry that my thoughts and prayers have been hijacked. But what if they too are really part of my story? What if they are telling the bigger truth of my story, not just the small, edited, clean version I had planned for myself?

The more I thought about this book, the more I saw the invitation in it. Would I be like Nicholas Ickle, angry and upset? Or would I embrace my story-crashers and tell a bigger story than I’d originally planned?

And later, came the God-whisper:

Listen.

Grace.
Receive grace.
Receive my presence.

I already love you. Stop trying to please me. Stop trying to earn my approval.

Know that you are loved.
Receive the gift of my presence.

Be open to to all the ways I speak to you.
Look for me.
Make time for me.
Wait for me.
Listen.
Be willing to let go of the old ways.

Embrace life.
Embrace love.
Embrace the messy, the unexpected, the story-crashers.

In what unexpected ways is God speaking to you?

This is Day 26 of the series 31 Days to Listen. Visit Write 31 Days to see what hundreds of other writers are posting for this challenge.

31 Days: Listening with others

Tonight I had the pleasure and privilege of leading a small prayer meeting at my church. And since I had the opportunity to choose the theme and format, it seemed right to explore a few things from 31 Days to Listen outside of the blog.

As we listened to God’s word through song and scripture, as we stilled ourselves and rested in silence, God was with us.

For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.

Matthew 18:20

And He was.

We shared some of the things that were drawing our attention, the challenges we face, and the invitation God extends for us to seek Him, lean into Him, trust Him.

On the trip home I became aware of a deep sense of peace that only comes from an encounter with God.

Thank you Lord for this privilege and blessing.

This is Day 15 of the series 31 Days to Listen. Check out Write 31 Days for more information about this challenge and to see what other bloggers are writing.

 

31 Days: A prayer for listening

As you listen, may you know God’s presence with you. May you hear his still small voice whispering in your heart. May his voice become familiar as a loved one.

May you discover the joy of his presence and may his words bring comfort and healing to the places that are wounded and broken.

May he reveal himself to you in ways you don’t expect. May you discover the beauty of his character, and the depth of his love for you.

And as you listen, may your soul and spirit rise in love and praise for Him, who is worthy of it all.

This is my prayer for you.

This is Day 14 of the series 31 Days to Listen.