Remembering
God's Presence in My Life Story
Biblical faith affirms that God is present in all things. Methodist
tradition stresses the reality of God's prevenient grace that has
companioned us since the moment of our conception. The question is: has
the awareness of his loving presence throughout my life really taken
hold of me? This exercise is a simple help towards discerning God's
presence in our life-stories.
The Prayer of Relaxation
Sleep, is a most precious gift given to us by God in order that we may
become refreshed both physically and spiritually, but only, properly,
when we become receptive to the all-pervading power of God.
So, before or as you go to sleep, practice this exercise in order to
find relaxation in God in order that you may gain renewal and vitality
from Him as you sleep in His presence.
The Review of our Prayer
After the more formal time of prayer it is sometimes helpful to do a
'review of prayer!' In the review we foster the art of noticing
what happens to us when we pray, and of noticing what happens to us in
the way we live our lives. Reflection upon experience provides the
basis for ongoing discernment.
Lectio Devina (Holy Reading)
This exercise is not intended to introduce you to something new. It is
meant to allow you to experience and feed on what you know. Regular
reading of the Bible extends the breadth of our familiarity with
Scripture. In 'holy reading' we absorb the Word in depth.
The Healer
"How do I become a living memory of God; how do I accept and connect;
how do I lift up the individual story into the divine history?" These
questions are temptations insofar as they avoid the more basic
question: "Who am I as a living memory of God?"
Maker and Earth Creature
What do you see of God as you look inside yourself?
An exercise in creative meditation.
A Meditation on God and Nature
What better place to see the wonder and power of God than in the nature
He created. We need only look at the birds soaring through the air and
we marvel at a God who created gravity, yet allowed His creation
control over it...