Amy Boucher Pye

Category: Prayer Exercise

  • Looking back to move forward in 2023

    Happy new year! The prayer of examen is simply looking back to move forward with God. You might want to take some time this month to consider a few questions as we launch into the new year. I found these somewhere last year and engaged with them – I’m sorry that I didn’t note where that was!

    Three questions to consider:
    1. What have the storms of 2022 picked up and blown away for you?
    2. How has 2022 anchored you more firmly?
    3. What fresh roots have you discovered in the noise of this past season?

  • Meeting God in Spain

    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!

  • Praying with the Bible: From prose to poetry

    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.

  • The Lord is my. . .

    I continue to love personalizing Psalm 23, and this week as I’m at Penhurst Retreat Centre in the lovely English countryside, I’m enjoying seeing the sheep and lambs as I ponder the Lord as my Shepherd. I share in the video below, which I recorded while being in the Shepherd’s Hut at Penhurst, about how to adapt Psalm 23 to us today.

    On social media I welcomed hearing your renditions, and I’m delighted to share Caroline Lessiter’s lovely one: “The Lord is my Friend,” with permission.

    The Lord is my friend, therefore I lack no support.
    He makes me rest when I am tired; 
He leads me to thin places 
    where I can take stock and be refreshed.
He guides me when I am feeling lost,
    for His glory.

Even though I may be deeply troubled 
    I fear nothing, 
because You are at my side always.
    Your ever presence 
comforts me.

You hold out Your hands of love 
    and welcome me during my times of struggle.
You wrap me in Your loving embrace 
    and I am filled with Your strength.
Surely Your grace and mercy will be with me 
    for the rest of my life
and I will live in my Father’s house 
    forever.

  • Join me in praying from Penhurst Retreat Centre

    This week I’m leading a 7 Ways to Pray retreat from the lovely Penhurst Retreat Centre near Battle, East Sussex (on the south coast of England). I welcome you to experience some of the wonder of this place, and more so, our amazing God who loves to meet us in prayer.

    I’ll be adding short videos each day to my YouTube channel – wifi permitting! (It’s very slow here out in the countryside.) You can also enjoy the videos I created back in March from Lee Abbey, Devon, if you want to jump in now. We won’t have the seaside this week, but amazing English gardens.

    The first video I created last night shortly after arriving while sitting in the sun-soaked garden by the labyrinth. How to prepare for a retreat? I give some pointers, and some silence to enjoy the birdsong.

    How do you best prepare for a retreat?

  • Abiding in the Vine: Praying with John 15

    How can we pray with Scripture, trusting that God will meet us through his word? One time-tested practice, about which I write in 7 Ways to Pray, is lectio divina. That’s a bit of jargon but it’s simply Latin for sacred reading (or prayerful reading). It’s a four-step process that helps us to slow down and engage with the text prayerfully. The four steps are:

    • reading
    • reflecting
    • responding
    • resting

    Join me in engaging with a favorite passage out of John 15 in this way of praying. Last week I spoke at Bethel University, my alma mater, and during the talk gave plenty of time for people to try out the four steps. Now you can too – take a mini-retreat, brew a cuppa, and know that God longs to meet with you!

  • How to Practice the Presence of God

    How can we fix our minds on Christ? One way to practice the presence of God – to remind ourselves that through his Spirit he lives within those who follow him – is to focus on certain Bible passages.

    Why not set aside a week to engage with this way of praying? Following are seven Scripture texts – you could focus on a different one each day.

    Know that God delights to meet us when we pray.

    • ABIDE – John 15:4: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
    • SET YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS – Colossians 3:1–2: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
    • DWELL – Philippians 4:8: “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
    • REMEMBER – Isaiah 46:9: “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.”
    • REJOICE, PRAY, GIVE THANKS –1 Thessalonians 5:16–18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
    • WALK – Galatians 5:25: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
    • KEEP RUNNING – Hebrews 12:1–2: “…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

  • Join me for a seven-week online retreat on 7 Ways to Pray!

    Would you like to explore seven ways to pray, under the guidance of a seasoned retreat leader? Join me in engaging with time-tested prayer practices as outlined in my new book, 7 Ways to Pray. You’ll not only learn more about these ways to pray in a nonthreatening setting, but you’ll have plenty of time to try them out—and thus to encounter our loving God.

    What:

    • 7 sessions on zoom, either joining live or watching later (each session no longer than 60 minutes)
    • An exploration of the prayer practice with plenty of time to try it out, reflect, and share
    • Downloadable resources, including a prayer journal
    • A private FB group for you to get to know the other participants (optional)

    When:

    Two streams, Tuesdays or Saturdays:

    Tuesdays from 8-9pm in the UK (3-4pm, EDT; 12-1pm PDT)
    7, 14, 21, 28 September; 5, 12, 19 October

    Saturdays from 10-11am, Eastern daylight time (7–8am PDT; 3–4pm UK)
    September 11, 18, 25; October 2, 9, 16, 23

    (I’m sorry that these times aren’t very friendly to those in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. I know some lovely ones there who might want to join in. I’d love to run a retreat for you if we could get enough people together; let me know if you’re a people-gatherer and can help make this happen.)

    How much:

    The suggested cost is £60/$80, but you’re free to subsidize others or to receive the generosity of others. I’m trying to keep it simple as possible while having some options to give or receive:

    • Sign up in the store if you are paying the suggested cost of £60 in pound sterling.
    • If you are paying the suggested amount in US dollars, please send $80 to me via PayPal through this link (and tick the box you’re receiving a service) and email me to let me know you are coming at amy@amyboucherpye.com.
    • If you want to subsidize others or be subsidized, then send me an email at amy@amyboucherpye.com to confirm that you are attending the course and I will sign you up. You can send money in US dollars to me via PayPal through this link or money in pound sterling to me at this link. (Or email me for bank details for a transfer to avoid PayPal charges.)
    • If finances preclude you coming, please join without paying. Email me at amy@amyboucherpye.com to let me know you are attending.
    • Does your small group want to join together? Be in touch and we can work out a group rate. (See below for more ideas for small groups.)

    Description:

    Week 1
    Praying with the Bible (personalizing Scripture, poetry, and others)

    Week 2
    Praying through the Bible (lectio divina – a four-step way to digest God’s word)

    Week 3
    Practicing the Presence (exploring the indwelling of God and unceasing prayer)

    Week 4
    Hearing God (including learning to discern God’s voice)

    Week 5
    Lament (crying out to God when life doesn’t go as we hoped)

    Week 6
    Imaginative prayer (placing ourselves in the stories of Jesus with our imaginations)

    Week 7
    Examen (looking back to discern how we’re moving toward or away from God)

    Next steps:

    Please sign up! I’ll be in touch in early September to send you the link to the private Facebook group, and you’ll also receive your zoom details and downloadable resources.

    Ideas for small groups:

    Want to join as a small group? Let me know and we can arrange for you to be in break-out rooms together. Also, you could follow the example of a group that will gather via their own zoom link for a half-hour prior to our meeting to catch up and share how the prayer journey is going.

    About your sponsor:

    Coracle, who is generously sponsoring this retreat, is the wonderful organization out of Virginia with whom I’ve just become a spiritual director. They exist to inspire and enable people to be the presence of God in the world by offering spiritual formation and Kingdom action. They help people become who they are in Christ so that through Christ they can bring God’s kingdom to a broken world through their lives, relationships, vocations, service, and risks.

    About your host:

    Amy Boucher Pye is a writer, speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director. She’s the author of 7 Ways to Pray and other books, including the award-winning Finding Myself in Britain. She loves writing devotional thoughts, including for the globally recognized Our Daily Bread, and runs the Woman Alive book club. She received her MA in Christian spirituality from Heythrop College, University of London. She regularly leads retreats at El Palmeral in Spain, Lee Abbey, Devon, and Penhurst Retreat Centre in East Sussex.

  • Praying with the Bible: Engaging with the Psalms

    The Psalms are the prayer book in the Bible, and we can use these ancient words in our own conversation with God. Such as what I did when I was reading Psalm 26. I found myself talking to God, wanting to query some of the statements David made. Here’s how it went…

    Vindicate me
    A big word; a very big word
    It asks for release
    I have led a blameless life
    But no I haven’t
    How can he pray this?
    I have trusted in the Lord
    Yes, I have
    I have not faltered
    Well, no, I’ve not
    Test me, Lord, and try me
    Really? I’m not so sure
    Remember that adage
    Be careful what you pray for…
    Test me? I’m not so sure
    Examine my heart and my mind
    Yes, I want this
    Or at least I want to want this
    For I have always been mindful of your love
    Your unfailing love
    I fear not always – always is a big word
    But I know your love is unfailing
    I’ve relied on your faithfulness
    When I’ve needed to
    Definitely when I’ve needed to

    I do not sit with the deceitful
    Nor associate with hypocrites
    Um, sorry, how can he say this?
    When I know I myself am a huge hypocrite?
    I wash my hands in innocence
    Nope, can’t say that either…
    I proclaim aloud your praise
    And tell of your wonderful deeds
    Now this I can do
    Yes! I love to tell of your work in my life

    Lord, I love the house where you live
    The place your glory dwells
    Oh how lovely is your house!
    Take not my soul with the sinners
    My life with those who thirst for blood
    In whose hands are wicked schemes
    Yes, I can affirm this
    I lead a blameless life
    Still not sure how he can say this
    Deliver me and be merciful to me
    Oh yes, Lord – deliver me
    Be merciful to me

    My feet stand on level ground
    Rooted to the earth, Lord
    Let me be rooted to the earth
    In the great congregation I will praise you.

    Three questions in closing:

    How did you feel when you read that?
    Why do you think David said his life was blameless?
    Might you turn one of the Psalms into your own prayer?

  • Praying with a Painting: Seeds and the harvest

    A large acrylic painting of a big red combine out in the yellow fields, under a cloudy blue sky.
    By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    It feels fitting to be offering this prayer exercise while sitting outside in the sunshine while upstairs in my study my daughter enjoys an art lesson with my dad via video chat. Feel the sun warm your toes and the breeze gently float around you, and picture yourself somewhere where it’s not too hot and not too cool. Where the clouds pass over the sun, dampening the temperature a bit. Where you hear the cry of the blackbird in the distance.

    Use my dad’s painting of a combine harvesting in late summer as a jumping point for prayer. Follow the Spirit where he leads. You might want to ponder seeds and growth in the kingdom of God from this parable of Jesus:

    26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26–29, NIV).

    Bonus to come—Sharon Garlough Brown leads us in lectio divina on this Scripture passage in a video interview I will post in September!