Day 11 = Imaginative Contemplation

Having not been into the Bible recently, I decided to return again tonight, and found that the liturgical reading for today (Moses coming off the mountain with the ten commandments, meditating on the nature and purpose of a covenant) lent itself very well to a bit of imaginative contemplation.

For those that don't know, imaginative contemplation is exactly what it says - meditating and praying your way through an imagined scene from the Bible, typically using a gospel reading, though I've heard anything with a bit of action and closeness to the Christ can work just as well. It follows an initial familiarisation with the reading then asking God to lead you in your imagination, and letting yourself be open to follow the spirit's prompting regarding what you should focus and reflect on.

I initially started with quite a traditional iconic image in my mind of the scene from thousands of years ago and imagined myself as a side character, a young woman visiting with Moses after he'd met with God, and seeing what I could glean for my own personal faith journey from Moses' encounter. I found this image faded quite quickly and didn't satisfy much.

I then asked God again what he wanted me to see, and saw myself in a field in Yalta, looking over the Black Sea, talking directly with Jesus, and felt energised, uplifted and renewed. What I found particularly interesting was that I felt I should allow myself two peaks at the story, with a conscious effort to let go the control of my imaginings and be prepared to ask God, and then follow God, into a more fluid and approachable picture.

I also found it interesting that teaching on imaginative contemplation encourage a conversation with Jesus or one of the other characters, and ending such prayer times with a more traditional short prayer, e.g. Glory Be/ Our Father...

Day 10 = Ghusl (?)

Doing it in the bath... So apparently a traditional prayer for Muslims is the purification of the body by taking a complete bath (ghusl). They say a lot of things, which I really don't want to go into detail over here, suffice it to say there's a lot more guidance and specification about how to live your life in Islam than there is in Christianity. Can we learn a thing or two from them, I wonder...

Right, so I'm off to take a bath! And whilst I'm there, I will meditate on Psalm 51:7, 2 Corinthians 7:1 and John 13:9. Btw, I like what my high Anglican church does in that it uses a scripture from the Old Testament, a scripture from the New Testament and a gospel reading at every service; makes it more complete somehow.

There's a lot different denominations and different styles of church can learn from each other, in order to help every part become fuller and more satisfied.

I think I shall really enjoy this form of prayer as it will be relaxed, life-giving and create a lot of cognitive space for reflection and thought wandering.

Day 9 = Praying through the news

Having a spare 30 mins while waiting for a meeting, I decided to see what I could do while out and about so grabbed the latest copy of the news and got interceding.

I don't often spend such a long portion of time diligently praying through the news as I tend to shoot up short arrow.prayers whenever I hear or see something that concerns me. This helps my memory and time management I find - both things I struggle with ordinarily!

But I found this focussed prayer time helpful today and my musing brought me to other related topics as well - things family and friends have asked me to pray for recently... So yes, if you're wondering, I prayed for you!

I found this time quite depressing and it brought my spirit down as the news today is largely negative. But it was great to remember that whatever we think or feel, Gods ultimately in control and while the fat lady hasn't sung over many of these situations yet, there is still hope - for them and for us all.

Day 8 = Candle time

I've had a long day today and am feeling quite tired from the long days I've had recently, travelling around the British Isles to see friends and family, so opted for a quiet half hour in the bath with candlelight and incense.

I love candle time as it allows for a quietness of the soul, and opportunity to let God sit with you (another Ignatian practice) - a relaxing of the need to 'do' prayer and enabling of the opportunity to 'be still and know that he is God'. I tend to get bored quite easily, so I find the combination of flickering candlelight and the sweet smell of incense more helpful, if not for anything else, as it occupies two of my senses.

Using senses in prayer can be provocative and can stir in the deeper places, particularly when you don't use words, but savour the non-linguistic elements of your spirit. In some ways, art and music have a similar effect (more on both of those later). There's also something about fire and water (the essential elements) that I find really captivates my spirit, uplifts my soul and can be extremely contagious in a non-demanding, non-threatening way.

Day 7 = The Examen

For those of you who aren't aware of the Examen, this is a simple tool that enables you to reflect on a period of your life (a day/ week/ term/ etc) and consider what gives consolation (joy) and desolation (despair). It's an Ignatian (Catholic) exercise, and can be an extremely powerful tool for prayer and drawing closer to God.

It's often done through stilling the soul, asking God to lead your thoughts and then seeing what images and memories surface when you're remembering what was good and what was not so good. Then taking those thoughts and feelings, and asking God to direct your future, so that you may focus on more consolation and less desolation. It's a bit more complicated than that, so if you want to know more, see www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/

I was asked to write my testimony and life story today, so I used the examen of my life as a means for prayer. It brought back many memories of good and bad times that had somehow sunk below the surface, and I found it very informative in the way that God's been leading me throughout my life and revealing in where he's currently leading me now.

I wouldn't advise doing an examen of such a long period of time as you tend to get less depth of the details that emerge and can be quite startling, but it was an interesting exercise, and one I occasionally do to reflect on what I feel to be significant days at the time. I would recommend giving it a go, as it can be an easy way into prayer, and really help in terms of finding divine guidance in times of decision.

Day 6 = Bible Study

Having said that I don't always use a traditional study of the Bible in my prayer time, I do enjoy studying the scriptures, diving into what they said to the people at the time and exploring what influence they have on my life today and in the future. So following on from yesterday's fictional reading as a point for prayer, I studied the Psalm for today (from my Bible in a year book).

I don't think it's so important to say here what I was reading or what I took from it personally, but suffice it to say, I often enjoy delving into scripture and find it relevant, pertinent and powerful. I love seeing what God had to say to his people in those times, and I particularly enjoy it when God's lined up a certain scripture that I need to hear for that particular day and that specific situation.

This doesn't always happen, and sometimes, reading the Bible can seem a little dull, but I believe it's important to let the spirit lead thoughts, prayers and actions, and to neither take the Bible too somberely nor not sufficiently seriously. Bible study is important, and finding that right balance that allows your soul to soar with the scriptures is essential. Probably a reason why studying the Bible too late at night, or in too much of a rush, doesn't ever seem so fruitful!

Day 5 = The 1st Sunday in Lent

Once again, I had two times of prayer - one by attending a beautiful, reflective, meditative wedding blessing for my friends at Corrymeela Retreat Centre, which once had links with my church, I found out recently! And time to read a book, and reflect on what the author is saying about her relationship with God, and what I can learn about hers in mine.

I won't go into detail of the wedding blessing; do let me know if you'd like to know more about either Corrymeela or the symbolism used in my friend's blessing, of which there was a lot! But the book I always find is an interesting choice, as I don't always use the Bible as a focus of my prayer time - my childhood self would have been shocked at that!! Instead, I find that we can learn something from the experiences of others who have had similar experiences to the ones we find ourselves in, which complements 'traditional' Bible study very well.

I don't advocate reading fiction as a form of prayer, as it doesn't always work that way, but it can be a useful jumping off point for thinking about our lives and bringing our concerns and joys to God having first been reminded of them by reading about others. In the words of my favourite fictional character from childhood (Psalty the Singing Songbook), we can sings songs till we're blue in the face, but if it's not praise, then it's nothing!

I guess fiction for me can work a bit like the traditional examen prayer (more on that later). It also helps when prayer feels stagnant to help us take a fresh look at things.