Tag Archives: centering prayer

Getting Over Myself

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One of the hardest things to do when I pray, especially Centering Prayer, is getting over myself.  I wrote about Centering Prayer (also called Contemplative Prayer or Christian Meditation) in my recent post, Prayerlife Revolution: https://europeanfaithmissions.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/prayerlife-revolution/.  God showed me a handy tool, a place to put those pesky thoughts about myself that intrude when I’m trying to focus on Him.  This tool is The Table.

I wrote about The Table in the likewise named post: https://europeanfaithmissions.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-table/.  But in that post I didn’t give the full history of The Table.  I’ve actually seen The Table, or at least a description of it.  If you follow this link and scroll to the bottom of the last page, you can see a drawing of what The Table looks like:

EZEKIELS_TEMP25

The Table came to my attention as a rhema word that God had given me many years ago.  [A rhema word is a word from the Bible specifically for you.]  At that time my son was living on his own and experiencing many difficulties including losing his job and losing his apartment.  Without an apartment, he also didn’t have a phone where we could call him.  After not hearing from him for a couple of months, worry plagued me so badly that I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t function.

Early one morning after another sleepless night I was having my regular Bible and prayer time.  At the time I was reading through the Bible for the sixth or seventh time, so that day’s passage was one I had read before.  It was in Ezekiel, where the angel is leading Ezekiel through the Temple in Heaven.  The angel is measuring and explaining everything, and Ezekiel is writing it all down.  Then in chapter 41 they enter the Holy of Holies where there is a wooden altar.  In verse 22 the angel says to Ezekiel, “This is the table that is before the Lord.”  Those words jumped off the page, and God told me: “Put him on The Table and leave him with Me.”

It sounds easy to do, but relinquishing control like that is actually pretty hard, and in those days (about 17 years ago) my faith was still in its young phase.  When I finally did put him on The Table, I released him so completely to God that I literally left him there for dead.

Instantly, peace flooded my heart.  Every time I started to worry again, I put him back on The Table.  A few days later, he finally called, with the news that he had gotten a job and found a place to live.

The Table has become my place to put those things that plague me: worries, people I love, and all the things that are out of my control.  When I have thoughts that pester me and try to draw my attention away from God, I do two things simultaneously:

  1. I softly sing the chorus to “I stand in Awe of You” (http://www.lyricstime.com/hillsong-i-stand-in-awe-of-you-lyrics.html), which helps get my focus back to God
  2. I put the distracting thought on The Table

Distracting thoughts are almost always focused on myself.  Lately, I’ve gotten a few prophecies from various sources, saying the same thing: get over yourself.  If you want to receive more from God, get over yourself.

I don’t just want to receive more from God, I want it ALL.  The Table is full of blessings, healing, renewed relationships, guidance, provision, etc.  God is in each gift that is on The Table.  He is on The Table.  We are invited to come take whatever we need from The Table.  And The Table is also a place where we can leave those worries, people, and thoughts that trouble us—a place to get over ourselves.  So for me, The Table is also where I can get over myself.

God is good!

Prayerlife Revolution

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Greetings from Romania!

I was telling my hostess (Clara from my book, “Look, Listen, Love”) about how my prayers have changed over the past year.  But actually the change goes back before that.  I was divorced in 2008, and the thing about divorce is that it messes up your mind.  I was having trouble praying because every time I closed my eyes, my mind went back to the divorce, chewing on it like a dog with a bone.  So I got a notebook and started writing out my prayers.  For two years I wrote my prayers in notebooks, then little by little I was able to spend time in prayer without a notebook: five minutes, then ten, and supplementing those prayers with written prayers.  Finally about a year ago I was able to pray without using a notebook at all, and started spending more time in prayer.

Then I went back to the US last fall and stayed with my mom for five months.  Mom invited me to her centering prayer group.  I hadn’t heard of centering prayer, so I was intrigued.  Centering prayer is also called contemplative prayer, and could also be called meditation.  Christian meditation, unlike other meditation, does not involve emptying your mind.  Instead, it is contemplating God or an aspect of God’s character.  Actually, centering prayer has been practiced for centuries, and like many good things, the devil has his counterfeit version.

I went to the centering prayer group and found that it wasn’t difficult at all to pass 20 minutes contemplating God.  In fact, in later sessions I found myself disappointed at having to stop after only 20 minutes.

During my time in the US I went to a missionary conference in Tucson.  I stayed an extra day because I had never been to Tucson.  So I went to the Botanical Gardens and late in the afternoon I was just entering the Saguaro National Park.  There, just as I was entering the park was a sign: Desert House of Prayer.  I was intrigued, so I hooked a U turn.  I was welcomed and invited to evening prayer.

After evening prayer I returned to my original itinerary, Saguaro National Park.  By then it was sunset, and seeing the majestic saguaro cacti at sunset was absolutely spectacular.  There was a reverent feeling of being in a natural cathedral.

Since returning to Europe, I’ve continued centering prayer by myself.  I have found that in those times when I don’t bombard God with petitions, but just sit quietly at His feet, are the times of great emotional healing.  If you’ve never tried centering prayer, I recommend it.  Here is the official centering prayer website where you can find out more about it: http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/.  But really, the best way to learn about it is to do it.

Here’s a website for the Desert House of Prayer: http://www.deserthouseofprayer.org/.

And here’s a website for Saguaro National Park: http://www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm.

God is good!