Praying
To many, prayer seems complicated… But prayer is simply a two-way relationship between us and God, in which we get to talk to God and we get to listen to Him! God wants us to communicate with Him, like a person-to-person phone call. Prayer isn’t a magical formula for getting what we want, and it isn’t reserved for ‘holy’ people, or for special times or places… God has made Himself known to anyone who reaches out to Him with an open heart.
SEE Reflection
Prayer happens in all different ways. One example is a reflective practice called ‘SEE’.
God is present in, and working through, the ordinary experiences of our everyday lives. We must learn how to discover God in those experiences. For most of us, most of the time, we are too busy; our environment is too noisy, and we are distracted. Silence is rare. Focus is difficult. Awareness and discernment are at a premium. ‘SEE’ is an intentional practice to bring more awareness of God’s action in our life, which is His grace.
- Get yourself into a comfortable position (sitting upright with hands on your knees, feet flat on the floor), and close your eyes.
- Recall that you are in God’s presence. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you review the events of your day.
- Walk through the events of the day, a bit like watching the day in fast forward. What happened in the morning? [Pause] What happened in the afternoon? [Pause] What happened in the evening? Try to recall both the experiences of the day and your responses to the day (your inner responses and your external responses).
- Pay attention to where God was at work and speaking but you did not notice ‘in the moment’.
God, what were you doing when this ____________ was taking place?
God, what were you saying to me about __________ but I missed it in the moment? - End with a prayer of gratitude to be more aware of God’s presence and his activity.
When we take time, when we pause to look back we position ourselves to be more aware of where God is already at work in our own life, in the lives of those around us (including those people who don’t yet know Christ), and in our world.
Why practice ‘SEE’?
Because where we live, where we work or study, the family and community that God has placed us in is not a mistake, it’s not random. God has placed us in these environments for His purpose.
Download
Click on the images below to continue ‘Living It Out’:
