learning to pray

Prayer is nothing but oneness with Christ. “abide in me”
“I live no longer, but Christ lives in me.”
Christ prays in me,
Christ works in me,
Christ thinks in me,
Christ looks through my eyes,
Christ speaks through my words,
Christ works with my hands,
Christ walks with my feet,
Christ loves with my heart.

If we really want to pray we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks. And to be able to hear that silence, to be able to hear God we need a clean heart, for a clean heart can see God, can hear God, can listen to God; and then only from the fullness of our heart can we speak to God. But we cannot speak unless we have listened, unless we have made that connection with God in the silence of our heart. (Mother Teresa: Essential Writings, page 54-55)

My silent time with God looks very different.

-Sometimes it is imagining myself being held in the arms of Jesus – kinda like me cuddling with Allie the other morning, but this time, it’s Jesus holding me. I sit quietly, imagining the comfort, the love, the tenderness, the peace, the joy I would experience. Sometimes, I imagine Jesus speaking soothing words to me, “it’s OK Lori, I’m here with you,”

-Sometimes my time with God is in the woods, walking alone. Being very quiet to not make a noise and just try to hear every noise possible in the woods – the crunch beneath my feet, the leaves in the trees, the birds, the breeze, a distance dog barking or the movement in the weeds.

-Sometimes I wish I knew yoga, but I just fake it and make up something for myself. I sit straight, with my shoulders back, I close my eyes and breathe in deeply and very slowly release. Sometimes, I breathe in “God’s peace” and release whatever may be on my mind. Or from Psalm 23 the first verse (paraphrased by me ) is “I lack for nothing”, so I breathe in accepting the truth of those words and again release whatever I think I may be needing.

At the end of this all, I am just experimenting and trying to discover what works for me. If I focus too much on the “how” and forget the “why” I am trying to be silent before God, I’m left frustrated. By when I remember Merton’s words, “my desire to please God, pleases God,” I am at peace.