fifteen minutes of daily reflection and heart-prayer
1. Spend 30 seconds in silence, becoming aware of your breathing, bringing your attention to the present moment and the prayer journey you are on.
2. Pray the Jesus prayer three times: not my will, but yours be done.
3. Read through your list of heart prayers thoughtfully, making marks or notes or changes as you go…
• Are there any new longings that have emerged, to be added to the list?
• Are there any longings that need to be edited or clarified in some way?
• Are there any longings that need to be moved up the list? (I want it more than…)
• Are there any longings that need to be move down the list?
• Are there any longings that you are ready to remove from the list?
4. Every day, or when necessary, take time to re-write your list on a new page.
5. Pray (read through) your list, starting at the top of the list and moving down.
6. End by saying the Lord’s Prayer. (3 versions below)
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
(The Message)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
(Traditional)
God, our father (our mother)
may your name be honoured
may your Way become our way
as we surrender to your will
Give us what we need, for today
Just as you free us when we have fallen, help us not to hold on for too long to pain caused by others.
Guide us and give us wisdom to distinguish between your voice, and what only seems like your voice.
Amen.
(B Marshall)
Monday, 2 June 2008
step 3-11
Begin using the “order for daily prayer” provided below.
Cut it out and stick it in your book (if you haven’t already done so.)
Follow the simple steps for daily reflection and prayer.
Remember, the purpose of the time of reflection is to consider prayerfully what your heart is longing for. Editing, adjusting and reordering the list of heart’s longings is done to try to clarify the most pressing longings and desires of your heart. Also, through edits and changes, the words and understanding of these longings may become clearer to us.
If you are interested, visit www.devotion.org.za for daily reflections and discussion on the journey, as well as additional devotional resources.
Cut it out and stick it in your book (if you haven’t already done so.)
Follow the simple steps for daily reflection and prayer.
Remember, the purpose of the time of reflection is to consider prayerfully what your heart is longing for. Editing, adjusting and reordering the list of heart’s longings is done to try to clarify the most pressing longings and desires of your heart. Also, through edits and changes, the words and understanding of these longings may become clearer to us.
If you are interested, visit www.devotion.org.za for daily reflections and discussion on the journey, as well as additional devotional resources.
step 2
spend your 15 minutes choosing the 20 most significant and powerful longings from the list you have collected over the past few days. There are no rules, so you can make a list of 5 or 50, but 15 to 20 might be a manageable size to start with.
Don’t choose according to what you think are the most “Christian” or the most “acceptable” of the desires listed in your notebook. Choose the 20 most powerful desires. The one’s that demand your attention, even if you wish they wouldn’t. Try to choose the 20 things you think are the top 20 “Wants” your heart is longing for…
Start a new page. Write the date. Write out your new “top 20” list of heart’s longings.
Enough for one day…
Don’t choose according to what you think are the most “Christian” or the most “acceptable” of the desires listed in your notebook. Choose the 20 most powerful desires. The one’s that demand your attention, even if you wish they wouldn’t. Try to choose the 20 things you think are the top 20 “Wants” your heart is longing for…
Start a new page. Write the date. Write out your new “top 20” list of heart’s longings.
Enough for one day…
step 1
preparing for the journey: getting your things together
make an extensive list of your hearts longings. Begin by saying: “what I really want is…” and then complete the sentence.
Consider all areas of life – don’t distinguish between physical and material, or spiritual and secular. Just make a list of all the “wants” you can think of.
Don’t simply answer all the questions below. Use them as a guideline – write down the “wants” that jump out and that are obvious. Also, don’t NOT write down something that pops up – just because it’s embarrassing to admit. Better to acknowledge the desire than try to hide it…
Guideline questions to get you started.
• What do you want for your family?
• What do you want for friendship?
• What do you want for your recreational life? What do you want to own?
• Where do you want to live?
• What do you want for you career?
• What do you want for your salary, your security, your retirement?
• For your marriage or significant relationships? In the areas of sexuality and intimacy?
• What do you want for your body? What do you want to look like?
• What sporting or other goals do you have?
• What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to travel?
• etc.
Over these days, keep your notebook with you and write down “wants” that make themselves known to you throughout daily life… e.g. like “I want to drive to work without traffic” or “I want to drink less coffee” etc.
Don’t worry about the length of the list, just keep writing at this stage.
make an extensive list of your hearts longings. Begin by saying: “what I really want is…” and then complete the sentence.
Consider all areas of life – don’t distinguish between physical and material, or spiritual and secular. Just make a list of all the “wants” you can think of.
Don’t simply answer all the questions below. Use them as a guideline – write down the “wants” that jump out and that are obvious. Also, don’t NOT write down something that pops up – just because it’s embarrassing to admit. Better to acknowledge the desire than try to hide it…
Guideline questions to get you started.
• What do you want for your family?
• What do you want for friendship?
• What do you want for your recreational life? What do you want to own?
• Where do you want to live?
• What do you want for you career?
• What do you want for your salary, your security, your retirement?
• For your marriage or significant relationships? In the areas of sexuality and intimacy?
• What do you want for your body? What do you want to look like?
• What sporting or other goals do you have?
• What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to travel?
• etc.
Over these days, keep your notebook with you and write down “wants” that make themselves known to you throughout daily life… e.g. like “I want to drive to work without traffic” or “I want to drink less coffee” etc.
Don’t worry about the length of the list, just keep writing at this stage.
Spiritual Health
A good gauge of spiritual health is to write down
the three things you most want.
If they in any way differ,
you are in trouble
rumi (1207-1273)
the three things you most want.
If they in any way differ,
you are in trouble
rumi (1207-1273)
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
basic assumptions of this journey
1. Our heart is the part of us that wants – it is our place of longing, ambition and desire.
2. Our choices are largely determined by our heart. Another word for the heart is our will. Our will reflects not only what we think it best for us – perhaps more often then we realise, it reflects our wants and desires.
3. A hearts longing is not treated as right or wrong. It just is. E.g. the child’s desire to reach out and touch a delicate porcelain vase is not unethical (wrong). But acting upon that desire may lead to the vase getting broken. The important question is what was the heart longing? Why did the child want to touch the vase?
4. We will be better off clearly knowing what the longings of our hearts are. (especially considering that our hearts longings might largely determine our choices and actions.)
5. Mature people are able to speak about their heart’s longings.
6. Mature people of faith are able to speak about the Heart of God (the dream of God for all creation) and are also beginning to consider how their heart’s longings relate to the Heart of God.
2. Our choices are largely determined by our heart. Another word for the heart is our will. Our will reflects not only what we think it best for us – perhaps more often then we realise, it reflects our wants and desires.
3. A hearts longing is not treated as right or wrong. It just is. E.g. the child’s desire to reach out and touch a delicate porcelain vase is not unethical (wrong). But acting upon that desire may lead to the vase getting broken. The important question is what was the heart longing? Why did the child want to touch the vase?
4. We will be better off clearly knowing what the longings of our hearts are. (especially considering that our hearts longings might largely determine our choices and actions.)
5. Mature people are able to speak about their heart’s longings.
6. Mature people of faith are able to speak about the Heart of God (the dream of God for all creation) and are also beginning to consider how their heart’s longings relate to the Heart of God.
The heart-prayer journey
daily steps toward intimacy with God
the goal of this journey
to pray with confidence a heart-prayer to God
OR
to know the deepest desire of your heart
Reaching this goal will involve:
• Learning to pay attention to our heart’s longings
• “sorting” through the many changing desires and cravings of the heart
• Spending quiet time in daily reflection on these themes
the goal of this journey
to pray with confidence a heart-prayer to God
OR
to know the deepest desire of your heart
Reaching this goal will involve:
• Learning to pay attention to our heart’s longings
• “sorting” through the many changing desires and cravings of the heart
• Spending quiet time in daily reflection on these themes
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