A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 3/3

On the Fridays of Lent, Night Prayer will look at different ways of understanding prayer. In this post, we'll look at a way of praying - so there's more material here than usual! I hope you'll be patient, take the time, and find this way of prayer helpful...

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) offers us this spiritual wisdom which may help us learn to pray with God's word in the scriptures:

Where is God’s word to be kept?

Obviously in the heart,

as the prophet says to the Lord:

I have hidden your words in my heart...

Keep God’s word in this way.

Let it enter into your very being,

let it take possession of your desires

and your whole way of life.

Feed on goodness,

and your soul will delight in its richness...

If you keep the word of God in this way,

it will also keep you.

How do I do this? How do I "keep God's word in my heart?"

Here's a simple way.

• Find some quiet time and relax...

be aware of God's presence...

ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray...

• You might want to begin with this simple prayer:

Lord Jesus:
you are here now,
always
and only
because you want me
and want to be with me...

Lord Jesus:
I am here now,
again
and as always
because I want you
and want to be with you...

Lord Jesus,
help me surrender
to your love and mercy,
to your word and your wisdom...

• Read a passage from the bible - any passage - and read it slowly. (To help you begin, I've included the familiar Psalm 23 below.) Some words, phrases or verses may be unfamiliar or difficult to understand - don't worry about those now- this is a time for prayer, not for bible study.

The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.

• Reflect on the words you've just prayed... how do they speak to your heart and mind today? What do they speak to you today?

• Now, go back and pray through the psalm again... Keep an eye out for a word, a phrase, a verse, an image that catches your attention... a verse that particularly challenges or comforts you... a verse you might want to keep in your heart for the day... a verse you'd invite to enter your very being... a verse whose goodness might feed you all day long...

• Now, close your eyes and just spend some time slowly repeating those words, perhaps out loud, perhaps in a whisper, perhaps in silence... let those words become a part of you... hide those words in your heart... take delight in them as the word God has spoken and given to you for this day... Take your time with this... The more these words embed themselves in your heart, the greater will be your prayer...

• Yes, hide those words in your heart -- but you might also write them out on a piece of paper or in a small notebook, on an index card, or on a Post-it - and keep that written word in your pocket or a place where you'll easily find it...

• Let this word God has spoken and given to you be your prayer, your mantra, for the day... Ask the Lord to help you remember the verse you've hidden in your heart and to bring it back to you during the day... Repeat it several times -or many times- whenever it comes to mind... Refer to your written copy as a reminder... Let the verse come back to you through the day as people, places and events remind you of it... If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you...

I encourage you to give this method of prayer at least a few days - it takes a little time to become comfortable with it. I know that it's a way of praying that's been very helpful in my spiritual life and I trust it will benefit you, too. After a few days, you'll become more accustomed to finding the words the Lord is speaking to you, hiding them in your heart, and feeding on them as the day goes on... You might want to keep a little log of the verses that stay with you: that can be helpful in recalling them or looking, later, for a verse to keep in your heart, that it might keep you in the Lord's embrace...

Tonight's music is a good example of taking a verse from scripture and repeating it as a mantra and holding, keeping it in your heart... (For many more examples of this kind of music, click here!)