Can I Pray This Way?

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Thursday, May 23, 2019

Can I Pray This Way?

What a question! As I consider praying in the Ignatian way, I remember the times I vividly experienced this way of prayer. Contemplative, imaginative, experiential prayer. But—will it work for me, this time?

I must admit up front: I am afraid. I am afraid that nothing will happen, this time. I am afraid of not paying sufficient attention to this type of prayer. I am afraid of being far from God. I am afraid my mind is so cluttered and full of chatter that I will not be able to focus. And, I am afraid that my heart is not right with God. This time.

Father Timothy mentions a woman who has similar fears and anxieties over praying in the Ignatian way, too. She follows those fears with: “When I reflect on the meaning of the Scripture, I have the sense that something will surface….there will be some little hold that allows me to enter the surface of the text and go in.” [1] I appreciate this woman’s witness to her experience.

Yes, I can pray. I do pray, in a conversational manner. I honestly enjoy talking with God! Except—it goes in cycles. I need to take this woman’s advice. She recommends patience and trust. I need to patiently try, try, and try again to work on Ignatian prayer.

Perhaps I ought to take the suggestions right here. One woman mentions a simple thing for her to imagine is the weather. [2] I realize the Bible does not go into depth, in terms of description. However, using Godly imagination with what I know of the weather in the area of Palestine is definitely a place to start.

Also, using as many senses as I can is a good suggestion. What can I hear from this passage? What do I see? Are there any smells? Can I taste anything? These are all places for me to start to begin Ignatian contemplation. Even if I am afraid of having my prayer stall out.

Dear Lord, thank You for providing different ways to approach You. You want above all to be in communication with Your children. It doesn’t matter how we do it, just that we do it regularly. Help me to come to You with Ignatian prayer and contemplation, even though I am afraid. Amen.

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my companion blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.  #PursuePEACE. My Facebook page, Pursuing Peace – Thanks! And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

[1] Meditation and Contemplation: An Ignatian Guide to Praying with Scripture, Timothy M. Gallagher, OVM (United States of America: Crossroad Publishing, 2008), 41.

[2] Ibid.

Spiritual Imagination and Prayer

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Saturday, May 18, 2019

Spiritual Imagination and Prayer

As I go through this book, I repeatedly find Ignatian prayer can be freeing, liberating, and exciting. Yes, I have read through books on Ignatian prayer before. (Including the Spiritual Exercises, the book that started it all.) Yet, I cannot get it cemented in my head that Ignatian prayer is truly a marvelous way to communicate with God. I still have difficulty practicing regular, daily prayer.

Father Timothy gives further examples of substantive Ignatian prayer. First, R. used the instance in the Gospel of Luke where Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus come by. R. saw himself as Zacchaeus, up a tree, and Jesus encountered him. The warmth, the intimacy, the desire of simply being with Jesus—all became a marvelous experience of imaginative prayer. [1]

Second, A. had a retreat where she intentionally set aside time to pray. The spiritual director gave her several Scripture passages, and she was drawn repeatedly to Jesus’s encounter with the children (from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19). A. imagined herself as one of the children, ad felt herself hugged by Jesus. [2] What an intimate, engaging experience!

I would love to be hugged by Jesus. How nurturing and loving that would be. Can I feel the warmth and intimate experience of this kind of prayer, on a regular basis? What if I do not feel it at all? (Now, since I have had these opportunities and experiences in Ignatian prayer before, I know it is possible. I just have not often tried Ignatian prayer.)

Perhaps I am afraid, or shy, or leery, or hesitant.  Forgive me, please.

Dear Lord, please encourage my heart to try Ignatian prayer more often. Overcome my hesitancy and fear of failure. Thank You for being there, for having Your arms open wide. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for running to meet me, like the Father from Luke 15 ran to meet the Prodigal. Help me to want that intimacy. Please, dear Lord. It is in Jesus’s precious name I pray, amen.

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my companion blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.  #PursuePEACE. My Facebook page, Pursuing Peace – Thanks! And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

[1] Meditation and Contemplation: An Ignatian Guide to Praying with Scripture, Timothy M. Gallagher, OVM (United States of America: Crossroad Publishing, 2008), 38.

[2] Ibid, 39.

World of Imagination in Prayer

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Thursday, January 17, 2019

World of Imagination in Prayer

I love to imagine things. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had an extremely active imagination. (Some might say an overactive imagination.) Perhaps that is why I love using Ignatian prayer. Using my senses and using my brain together in prayer seem to be a marvelous combination. Maybe not for everyone, but it is so for me.

As I get down to praying (in the Ignatian way), “the clarity that emerges is invaluable. It allows a solidly grounded use of these methods, with flexibility, as the Spirit draws us individually.” [1] Whether I imagine the heat and dust of an outdoor market where Jesus and His disciples are traveling, or whether the crowd presses against me as I wait and watch Jesus passing by, it does not matter. I may read the Psalms and be transported into the sadness and fear of the psalmist, and sometimes not be able to quickly separate myself from that experience.

Yes, I can readily intellectualize my Bible reading, to the point where the Bible becomes sterile and stuffy. However, I am saved from over-intellectualizing. Ignatian prayer saves me from that, and allows me to immerse myself (and my imagination) in the Bible reading of the day.

St. Ignatius loved to make use of the Gospels in Ignatian prayer—active, imaginative participation in these Biblical events. “Direct contact with his words opens for us the full richness and endless freshness of this teaching.” [2]

It has been about ten or eleven years since I made my way through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The richness of that experience only whetted my appetite all the more for Ignatian prayer. I am so looking forward to this how-to book on prayer. I hope and pray I can help a few others, in these brief articles.

Dear Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayers.
@chaplaineliza

 

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my companion blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.  #PursuePEACE. My Facebook page, Pursuing Peace – Thanks! And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er

[1] Meditation and Contemplation: An Ignatian Guide to Praying with Scripture, Timothy M. Gallagher, OVM (United States of America: Crossroad Publishing, 2008), 10.

[2] Ibid, 11.

Study, by Lilias Trotter

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Study, by Lilias Trotter

I was introduced to a writer I had never heard of before: Lilias Trotter. Her life and adventures sound fascinating. Traveling from a privileged life in upper class London to a mission in North Africa, ministering to the poor of Algeria—quite a story. Quite a life.

Yes, she was a compassionate leader in the region who cared deeply for children. What is more, Ms. Trotter was “welcomed as a spiritual authority figure by Arab leaders.” [1] Impressive, indeed.

As the commentator goes in depth to the themes she discusses, I see some familiar themes. The sheep and the sheepfold of John 10, as well as the hireling and the wolf. Good stuff, here!

However, what touched me the most deeply was something at the beginning of this reading. God has been preparing her readers over the years for leadership that comes from God. “You yield this obedience, first to the founder (waly) of your order, and under him to the sheikh representing him, who can interpret his teaching into your daily life.” [2]

The idea of God being the sheikh fueled my imagination! Believe me when I say that I got all excited. I read Ms. Trotter’s description of the sheikh in this paragraph: “You feel that your sheikh knows you through and through, and into his hands you deliver yourself.” [3]

Quite different view from what I am used to! It is good for me to be shaken up. (Lord, isn‘t it?)

Dear Lord, help me to be regularly shaken up. In Your mercy, hear all of our prayers.

@chaplaineliza

 

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my companion blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.  #PursuePEACE. My Facebook page, Pursuing Peace – Thanks! And, read my sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er.

 

[1] Spiritual Classics, edited by Richard J. Foster and Emilie Griffin. (San Francisco, California: HarperSanFrancisco, 2000), 86.

[2] Ibid, 87.

[3] Ibid.

Be Careful How You Pray. An Introduction.

Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Monday, May 4, 2015

Be Careful How You Pray. An Introduction.

I find I am fascinated by the book Inner Compass. This book is on Ignatian spirituality. And, it is also on prayer and how to orient ourselves to God.

Specifically on prayer, I love how St. Ignatius gives specific instruction in what to do. Margaret Silf also passes on the principles of Ignatian prayer. That is, a style of prayer and meditation that will deepen the pray-er’s understanding of God. One highlight that Ignatian prayer holds for me is lively use of the imagination. A close second stand-out is how reflective and deeply meaningful it can be.

My caution? Ignatian prayer can be slow and subtle. It can also be strong and sudden—just like my feelings. Not that this form of prayer isn’t unpredictable, but I would say surprising, instead.

I so want to dig deeply into Silf’s understanding of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius; but I get the sudden feeling that this would be like jumping off the deep end of the pool. (Not unlike the way that I got into the Spiritual Exercises, ten years ago. But I digress.)

As an introduction, let me quote from the first chapter of Inner Compass: “When we open ourselves to God in prayer, we invite him to enter our Who center, bringing the gifts of the Spirit into the heart of our lived experience, with all its problems, pain, and sin.” [1]

St. Ignatius considered prayer very much a gift from God. When we enter into the adventure of prayer, what Silf calls our Who center [Who each of us is, deep down, inside] can be deeply triggered. Accessing that gift of prayer can split me wide open. Open to praise of God, yes. But open to problems, pain and sin, as well.

Be careful what you pray for, and how you pray, indeed. Especially using Ignatian prayer.

(To be continued!)

@chaplaineliza

Like what you read? Disagree? Share your thoughts with your loved ones and continue the conversation.

Why not visit my sister blogs, “the best of” A Year of Being Kind.   @chaplaineliza And, read sermons from Pastor, Preacher Pray-er .

[1] Silf, Margaret, Inner Compass: Introduction to Ignatian Spirituality (Chicago: Loyola Press, 1999), 4.