By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.
My daughter loves autumn. She doesn’t enjoy heat and doesn’t love the beach like I do, so for her, the changing leaves don’t instill in her a sense of dread. I used to love fall with the gorgeous colors especially in the upper Midwest in the States, but now autumn for me means shorter and shorter days and the bone-chilling cold that the damp atmosphere of England can bring.
What does this season mean to you? How could you offer all of your feelings about it to God? Perhaps today you might want to take a walk, taking in the sights and sounds around you, asking God to reveal himself to you as you do. What might he be welcoming you to relinquish in this season?
For my friends in the Southern hemisphere, what things might God be awakening in you as you enter Spring?
You could also take some time to pray with this lovely painting by my dad. Let your eye move around it, asking God to lead you in prayer. You might want to ponder a passage of Scripture as you do so, such as one of these:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:33–34, NIV).
In [God’s] hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:10, NIV).
I’ve had the absolute delight of walking by the sea near to where Jean lives; I can only imagine what that must feel like as one’s daily walk. We can’t all live close to the sound of crashing waves or the gentle lapping of water, but we can all walk with God. As you take a few moments to read and ponder, why not set aside some time to enjoy God’s presence?
As a child, I grew up by the seaside, on the beautiful north coast of Ireland. Some of my early memories include long walks on the beach, frequently with my favourite aunt, as we talked together and she pointed me to Jesus. As a young teenager I remember lying in the sandhills above the beach reading a book, feeling God’s presence as he spoke to me through it.
Having lived in various situations around the world, these days I live by the seaside once more. And it’s there that I still experience my closest moments to God.
In 7 Ways to Pray Amy talks about ‘practising the presence of God’ as Brother Lawrence described it. This lay monk has always struck a chord in my heart. Brother Lawrence practised God’s presence while working in the kitchen, and I do a bit of that too, but for me walking along the coast has always brought me close to God. I think of the reference to Enoch in Genesis 5: 24, ’Enoch walked with God.’ In Luke 24:15 we read of the two walking to Emmaus when ‘Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.’ I love that idea of walking with God as I physically take my daily walk.
2 minutes of pondering God our Rock on the South Coast of England with Amy
Walking along the coast, in awe at the changing colours of the sky and its reflection in the sea, my heart lifts in praise to the Creator of such beauty. On a windy day when I am struggling to keep upright, the rigging on the yachts rattling in the harbour, the waves crashing against the rocks and the gulls calling out in joy, I am reminded of his almighty power. And on a quieter day I sit on a rock, bathed in the warmth of God’s love, soothed by the gentle lapping of water on the shore, feeling God’s peace settling on my heart, hearing his ‘still small voice.’ It is in these moments above all that I feel God’s nearness, as my thoughts are stilled and focused on him and a sense of calm displaces my anxieties and concerns.
At such times, words are not always necessary. Amy quotes Brother Lawrence, ‘My prayers are nothing other than a sense of the presence of God.’ Sometimes being aware of God’s presence takes us beyond words. For me, these occasions often happen when I’m outside in nature, aware of God’s creation around me. For you it may be different.
Not all of us live by the seaside. Not all of us can easily walk, or be, in a beautiful place. Perhaps like Brother Lawrence most of your day is taken up in mundane tasks, in a repetitive job, in caring for others. But wherever we are, God is there. Can I encourage you today to be intentional about ‘practising God’s presence’? Find your special place where God feels near and make yourself available to him there.
The two on the road to Emmaus urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us.’ Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him.
(Luke 24)
Having worked in theological education in Kenya and the Christian charity Care for the Family in Ireland, Jean Gibson enjoys sharing the stories of people who inspire her. Her books include Seasons of Womanhood, Journey of Hope and An Open Door. Details can be found on her website.
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God.Sign up for Amy’s monthly newsletter, including a prayer practice.
Hello from sunny Spain! I am here at El Palmeral leading a retreat. This week we’re exploring the story of Jesus with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and how friendship with God changes them—and us. I’ll be sharing some videos on my YouTube channel in which I lead prayer exercises and welcome you to join in. Here’s one that introduces the lovely chapel, after we’d prayed night prayer together. Enjoy!
My first writing love is Bible reading notes, in the British parlance (devotionals). When New Daylight asked me to write back in 2008, I soon realized that this was my favorite type of writing. I never tire of it. I love delving into the commentaries and putting together the narrative and then discerning how we can apply God’s word to our life.
All are available worldwide in digital format; printed booklets are also available but postage out of country can be expensive.
What an insightful post by Tasher about our need to listen at least as much as we talk when we pray, as inspired by his observations of his wife’s friendships. I hope you’ll read, enjoy, and put his advice into practice!
So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33:11)
I never really understood prayer to be talking with God as if He is a friend—the kind you tell everything—until I observed my wife and her friends.
My wife, Jennifer, is on the phone every two or three weeks with Lindsay, her friend of almost three decades. She and Lindsay met on a serendipitous camping trip when she was nine. They wrote to each other every year from then on through college. They shared in each other’s lives through weddings, miscarriages, and the births of all six children. They talk about each child’s idiosyncrasies, eating preferences, the cute things that three-year-olds say and even the goals of their entrepreneurial husbands. Each call is a feast of excitement and ends because mothers must return to their children.
In my estimation, the hallmark of friendships like these is listening. I have yet to meet someone whose complaint was that their best friend listens too much. Many people, however, are known for their talking.
In fact, most of us talk at God.
We have been taught what to say and how to say things to God in prayer. We’ve even received formulae about how to order things, whether to quote scripture or not and the real meaning of praying in Jesus’ name. While these ways to pray have varying degrees of merit, they’ve often produced extravagant, eloquent talkers and deplorably poor listeners.
We turn up to prayer with our cries and complaints, scriptures and supplications, with our fears, needs, pleas, praise and thanksgiving. God is pleased because He wants to hear all of it. I’m guessing He’s also disappointed because as soon as we are done presenting that list, we move on to the next thing. God thus becomes that friend who never gets an opportunity to participate in the conversation. Imagine how the story would have gone if Moses had said, “Please, show me Your glory,” then went back to hearing the people’s complaints and judging between them.
Do we not do the same? Do we ask God for help or direction and then get back to whatever task is before us? After we empty ourselves of our cares, worries and burdens and then move on to the next thing, what will fill that space? Won’t it be more of the same? More overwhelm. More feelings of inadequacy. More pressure and increasingly feeling rushed. In Philippians, the Holy Spirit promises a peace that will have others, and you, wondering how you can be so calm and content given your circumstances. We are guaranteed to miss that blessing if we don’t take the time to let Him fill us up.
Jesus assured us that the Father knows that we need all “these things” (Matthew 6:32). Our approach to prayer, then, shouldn’t be as if we are talking to someone who doesn’t know what is going on in our lives. It should be more about creating space to hear what God has to say. God has an answer for whatever question and provisions for whatever the need.
While God always acts to provide for our needs, He desires that as the deer pants for the water, we thirst and long for Him. As He fills us with Himself, we come to know His presence. Then we feel His peace, strength, comfort and healing.
Stillness is a prerequisite to knowing God and hearing from Him. (Psalm 46:10) Make time, after you finish talking, to be still. Cultivate the ability to discern God’s voice from the rest of the noise. (Amy addresses this in her book 7 Ways to Pray.) Enter into your prayer time intent on doing more listening than talking. Grab a journal and in that stillness, write down what you hear.
If we listen twice as much as we talk, we’ll find that God is always speaking and that He answers every prayer.
Tasher Adaarewa is an author (Decision Design) and entrepreneur. He provides coaching and consulting for Christian businesses to help them realize the vision God gave them. More of his work can be found at tactgroupinc.com
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God.
I so appreciate hearing from readers when they share their stories of God working in their lives, and when a bit of my writing plays a part, I’m humbled and grateful! I loved reading Sheila’s story of forgiveness, spurred on by the Spirit. As you read, may you open your heart to that same Spirit, who might bring to mind someone you could forgive?
A meditation in Our Daily Journey, written by Amy Boucher Pye on the subject of forgiveness, got me thinking. At the conclusion we were led into considering whether there were any experiences in our lives where there was a need to forgive.
While I have been very conscious over the years of the need to forgive, and have experienced the wonderful freedom it brings, as I read the meditation there suddenly flooded into my mind the memory of an incident more than thirty years ago in the church. I knew immediately that I had not really forgiven.
A new Curate came when I was involved with the Pathfinder Group of young teens. The mother of one of our members came to see us, concerned that, while she encouraged her children to be faithful to their commitments, she felt this was being challenged as the Curate had told her daughter to be trained as a Server, which meant leaving Pathfinders. As leaders of Pathfinders we weren’t told of this decision.
Several other incidents that happened without communication, so I went to the Curate and asked him to tell me what was going on. He looked me straight in the eye and said,
“You are not a mainline Anglican and you don’t fit.”
I was so shocked that I did not respond, so I went to the Vicar and told him what had been said and his response was,
“Well, it’s true.”
Having made a point of being committed to the church over the years in every way possible, including broadening my churchmanship, I found their statements very hurtful.
These thirty years later, as I read the article in Our Daily Journey and realised that I had not forgiven the Curate, I laid the whole situation at the foot of the Cross. I knew that Jesus had been there with me at the time, and so I was finally able to forgive him, and pray for him, leaving it all with the Risen Christ.
Finally, to bring the seal of God’s redeeming love on it all I placed the whole situation (albeit thirty plus years later!) via a little written note, on the Altar, at a recent Eucharist.
Subsequent circumstances have made me realise, and has caused me to thank God, that it was thatstage on my pilgrimage that was a contributory factor to where I am today. And soon after, there was a lovely reconciliation with the Vicar.
I am forgiven and able to forgive!
Sheila Holwell says: I grew up in North London where from the age of six I went to Crusaders where Evangelical Bible Teaching was tops and on which she I stand eighty years later!
After school I went to RAF Hendon doing office work, where I met the family of a Sergeant whose wife was dying. She requested that I witnessed her Baptism (in the Hospital bed), which was such a privilege. She died soon after. Eventually, but not without much heart searching and doubts, I responded to George’s (the widower) request to marry him. One day I took him and his son, Peter out in the car. Eight-year-old Peter from the back seat said “Well, when are you two going to get married then?” I nearly crashed the car!! Then I said “Oh, at least not until next year.” His immediate answer was, “Oh! I’ll die if I have to wait that long.” We didn’t let him die, and there followed wonderful experiences in Singapore and Libya as well as the UK.
Then followed a period in Oxfordshire where both George and I became Readers (LLMs) with a final move to S. Devon where George went to Glory. George did have very bad fits of depression which marred the first 25 years of our marriage, but the Lord was there and George had a wonderful healing, which is another story.
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God. And have a look for The Living Cross, which is a through-the-Bible engagement with the topic of forgiveness.
By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.
Join me for a few moments of prayerful contemplation of this painting of my father’s – you could take a walk in the woods through your imagination. As you do so, you might want to consider this passage from Mark’s gospel:
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
Mark 6:30–32 (NIV)
Of course, the story continues and the disciples and Jesus don’t get their rest because Jesus has compassion on the crowds, feeding them miraculously with five loaves and two fish (you can read the whole story here). How do you think Jesus’ friends felt when they didn’t get to go off for their rest? Might their perspective have shifted when they took part in the miracle?
Through your imagination, take a walk in the woods with Jesus. Notice him next to you – what’s he doing? What’s his expression? Might he have something to say to you?
Recently when on retreat I led some times of engaging with the Bible prayerfully, including turning some of the prose into a poem. I love this rendition that I’ve been given permission to share.
You could read through it slowly, asking God to help your love overflow. Then perhaps spend some time with a passage of your choosing, having a go yourself?
And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless…
Philippians 1:9–10, NRSV
Eyes to see, Ears to hear, Heart to love, being and becoming
Knowing to knowledge; Helpless to helped; Better to best, Mercy and forgiveness
Graceless to graceful Thankless to thankful God’s love abounds to all around God’s love, God’s love, you have been found –Ann Ruby
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God, including a chapter on praying with the Bible.
Do you have time to pray just four words? I love how Andrea gives us this practical way to incorporate more prayer into our days as we dialogue with God. Just four words, but what a difference they can make!
For several years now I have worked my way through A Clearing Season, by Sarah Parsons, during the Lenten season. In one particular reading, in one particularly tough season of my life, I read this:
“Thy will be done. In relation to our ordinary, workaday lives, these may be the most revolutionary words we will ever say. Saying them can change our orientation to life: we put our little boats into a great stream and drop our oars. We lose a bit of our old control over things; we clear the space and allow God to fill it, agreeing to tend whatever growth God engenders.”
–Sarah Parsons, A Clearing Season
Parsons’s recommendation for a four-word prayer became precisely what my heart needed to refocus my constant and invasive triggers. With this prayer, I could release, refocus and reset; taking the mental and emotional turmoil I thought I could control and open-palming it back to God’s control.
The four-word prayer, “Thy will be done,” burrowed deep into my daily walk with God. I carry it with me like my well-worn childhood security blanket I affectionately called my “thing.”
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
2: LORD, YOU ARE BIGGER
I find immeasurable comfort in remembering how small I am in relation to God’s bigness. I often think back to the song I sang so often in my childhood, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” If He’s got the whole world in His hands, He has me in them as well.
3: REDUCE ME TO LOVE
Hannah Brencher shared that she calls her small prayers “breath prayers.” I love this!
“Breath prayers help me bridge the gap between praying sometimes and praying without ceasing. My breath prayer for when fear tries to take back the lead role is simple: Reduce me to love.”
–Hannah Brencher
I’ve loved this prayer since the moment I read Hannah’s words. It’s a prayer that helps me quickly get out of my own way and centers my focus on loving others well. “Reduce me to love” is a prayer that Jesus lived and calls His followers to.
4: HELP ME; THANK YOU
Sometimes I don’t know what to ask for, but I know I’m in need. As I ask the Holy Spirit to cover me, I always want to make sure I’m asking from a foundation of gratitude.
With eyes wide open at the wonder of it all Or with broken wings when I’m spinning in free fall Hallelujah, deliver me They’re rising up inside of me Rolling off my tongue Before I thought to bid them come
Help me, help me, thank you, thank you Whether you’re riding high or feeling low These are the two best prayers I know Help me and thank you
I, myself, find it challenging at times to ask for help. William Paul Young, author of The Shack and whose powerful story is featured in The Heart of Man documentary, said these four words, “Can you help me?” for the first time in his life to another human after his lifetime of secrets were exposed. I voice this prayer to my God, the helper and healer. I know it pleases Him when I do.
I want to mention that I do not believe our prayers to be quick fixes. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to healing our broken places. Healing takes time, and it is not linear. However, these four-word prayers can serve the purpose of releasing control, replacing our focus on Christ’s power, and resetting our hearts.
Afour-word prayer can become a small yet meaningful practice leading to deeper conversations with our Creator, Comforter, and Healer.
What short prayers are meaningful to you? How do you re-center when anxiety threatens to consume you? What do you turn to for a quick reset?
Andrea Stunz enjoys life’s adventures; best when they require a passport and are shared with her family and friends. She longs for another sunrise, a good cup of coffee or tea, and the grace of Jesus. She is a writer, editor, and sharer of stories. She desires to encourage others with the hope she has found in Colossians 1:17. AndreaStunz.com
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God, including a chapter on using our imagination to place ourselves into a gospel story.
What a wonderful post from Joy with some simple but profound ways to pray with your imagination. I love her idea of the prayer walk in one’s local community even from one’s own home, and think of how meaningful that could be not only for us as we pray but for our neighbours.
Bored with prayer? None of us would actually admit to it, but I think we have all been there. We sit down to pray, we have our lists, our prompts, our determination. And yet five minutes in our mind is wandering, and we are planning what to cook for dinner. There are lots of ways of helping us to stay focussed when we pray. I regularly use prayer lists, mnemonics, and indeed the words of scripture to pray. But I have found that when my prayer life is beginning to feel stale and routine I need something else. So I use my imagination.
That may sound a bit dodgy – can we trust where our minds take us?
We are creative beings, made in the image of a creative God. And I believe He has gifted us with our imagination. As a Christian Fiction writer I understand that now more than ever. My stories are inspired by Holy Spirit, using the vehicle of my imagination. And Jesus Himself taught some of His most profound truths by engaging the imagination through parables and stories. So I can trust my imagination if it is surrendered to God, and the things I use it for grounded in scripture (Phil 4:8).
So how do I use my Imagination to pep up my prayer life?
First of all, I invite Holy Spirit to be in it. I use worship music to welcome Him into my prayer space, but a simple prayer of welcome and a moment of surrender is enough. These are just some of the ways I use my imagination to enhance my prayer life.
Praying for myself:
This is perhaps the easiest. I picture myself walking with Jesus, holding His hand. I don’t have a problem with this act of intimacy as I believe it is how we were designed to be – before the fall, Adam walked in the garden with God (Gen 3:8). Jesus and I walk together through a beautiful landscape of grass, trees and mountains, alongside a sparkling river and I just tell Him about my concerns. And I listen, because He often speaks back to me. Sometimes I even feel the squeeze of His hand on mine.
Praying for my friends:
I picture myself before the throne of grace. I know that I am welcomed there because of Jesus (Hebrews 4:16). As I stand before the Father I imagine the person I am praying for is standing beside me. I have in effect taken their hand and led them to the throne of grace. I thank God for my friend and what they mean to me, and then wait for a moment to sense what God might say about them too. Sometimes He tells me to tell them something to encourage them. Other times I just pour out my heart for them to Him. Invariably I end up in tears, sensing the love He has for them.
Praying for my community:
Many of us know the power of prayer walking. I can’t do that so much today, so I use my imagination instead. I walk the streets of my town in my mind and pray for the businesses to be blessed. For the people I know, stopping in my mind at their front doors. For the schools and the care homes. For the areas of deprivation and need. I find it a really helpful way to focus and often a deeply moving experience.
Using my imagination doesn’t necessarily replace other forms of praying, but it does help to add variety and colour to my prayer life. If you are finding prayer hard, for whatever reason, why not engage your imagination and see what happens?
Joy Margetts is a blogger and a published author. She is also a retired nurse, mother and grandmother, with a lifelong interest in history.
Her debut novel The Healing was published by Instant Apostle in 2021. A work of historic fiction, set in medieval Wales against the backdrop of Cistercian abbey life, it is also a story of faith, hope and God’s redemptive power.
The Pilgrim, her second full length novel, will be published by Instant Apostle next month.
For more information on Joy and her writing, and links to purchase her books, go to her website.
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God, including a chapter on using our imagination to place ourselves into a gospel story.
