369 Ways to pray PAGE 30 |
369 names, titles and epithets of our Lord |
Radical PrayerRadical Prayer goes to the root, the heart, the center. The word radical comes from the Latin radix, which means root. Radical Prayer refuses to let us stay on the fringes of life's great issues It dares to believe that things can be different.
It's aim is the total transformation of persons, institutions and societies. Radical Prayer, you see , is prophetic. from PRAYER by Richard Foster.. |
RecollectionA key element of prayer is awareness of God, so give yourself a few moments to become aware of God's presence.
Playing a background tape of hymns or religious music can sometimes be helpful |
Simeon took Jesus up in his arms and
praised and thanked God saying. . . . . . with my own eyes I have seen Your Salvation. . . . . A light for revelation to the Gentiles. . . . . . . . . . LUKE 2 : 30 AMPLIFIED N.T. |
Closing the eyes might initially reduce distraction.
Appropriate gesture , like kneeling or bowing the head enables us to express physically our heart's disposition, and lets our interior disposition assert itself. "Recollection is a word frequently used in the monastic world and denotes the expulsion from the mind of all distracting thoughts and the collecting together |
And all the ends of the earth
shall see The Salvation of our God. ISAIAH 52 : 10 |
and concentration of one's entire thoughts on God in prayer.
It is only when by practice and by habit we become able to concentrate profoundly and easily , that we can continue through life in a state of collectedness, in spite of what we are doing. But even to be aware of having extraneous thoughts, shows that we must have achieved some sort of collectedness. |
SanctificationTherefore Jesus,that he might sanctify the people with His own blood,
suffered outside the gate. HEBREWS 13:12 Jesus our sanctification |
The state of recollectedness On the holy ground to which we gain access in the state of recollectedness, the divine presence becomes manifest.
Fr. Romano Guardini 1885 -- 1968 |
SanctuaryThe Lord of hosts
Him you shall hallow He will be as a sanctuary. ISAIAH 8:14 |
Recollectedness, for one thing, means that man becomes composed and concentrated. To recollect oneself means to become still; to free oneself of everything that is irrelevant and hold oneself at the disposal of God
This is the state in which he may, when the call comes to him , answer in the words of Moses " Here I am ". |
SAVIOURFor there is to be born to you this day in the city of David
a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. LUKE 2:11 |
Deep Recollection The saints and mystics speak of "leaving the senses behind" and
"going within " in prayer. In this way we can hopefully attend to the presence of " The Kingdom of Heaven within " which they recommend us to find. |
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 PETER 1:1 ESV
. . . . .grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to him be the glory both now and forever. AMEN 2 PETER 3:8 NKJV |
We are to use our body and mind in such a way that they help us to attend to
God,s presence, in grace. Ways of Praying John C Edwards S.J. INTERIOR RECOLLECTION |
Saviour of the bodyCHRIST is the head of the church and He is the Saviour of the body.
EPHESIANS 5:23 |
Interior recollection during work will lead a Brother to contemplation.
To attain this recollection it is always permissible while working to have recourse to short and so to speak, ejaculatory prayers and sometimes to interrupt the work with a brief prayer. . . . . To persue unity with Christ and to abide in His love, whether at work or elsewhere we try always to have our heart and mind turned towards God. |
Saviour of the worldwe have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world.
1 JOHN 4:14 We know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world. JOHN 4:42 |
The hectic pace of daily activity combined with the noisy and often frivolous invasiveness of the means of communication, is certainly not something conducive to the interior recollection required for prayer.
John Paul 11 |
We trust in the living God,
Who is the Saviour of all men especially of those who believe. 1st TIMOTHY Ch4 v10 |
The Passive Prayer of RecollectionSt. Teresa of Avila tells us that when we begin to experience the first degree of infused contemplation ( i.e. the passive prayer of recollection), we leave aside intellectual meditation for the experience of contemplation ( the less powerful form
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SceptreI shall see him but not now
I shall behold him but not nigh there shall come a Star out of Jacob |
of contemplation- the passive prayer of recollection).
Here we may gently continue to recite vocal prayers, repeat a biblical word, or quietly reflect, as a method of maintaining receptivity and responsiveness to the infusion. Preliminary Recollection |
a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel
NUMBERS 24 : 17 AV Second ManThe first man was of the earth, made of dust
the second Man is the Lord from heaven |
Part of the discipline and routine of the "act of the Presence of God" and of preliminary recollection is to find in one's heart a smile in response to God.
The smile may be through tears but it is there. Again as Brother Lawrence puts it in his eighth letter; "One way to recollect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquillity, is not to let it wander too far at other times: you should keep it strictly in the presence of God: and being accustomed to think of him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm at the time of prayer. |
And as we have borne the image
of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. !st CORINTHIANS 15 : 17 The Heavenly Man |
Recollection by moodAny state of mind or body can be appropriate to some event of our Lord's life-
and set the scene for reverent awareness of God.. While suffering a serious injustice we can know the presence of our Lord Jesus |
Seed of DavidRemember that Jesus Christ,
of the seed of David, was raised from the dead |
Who's trial and crucifixion were the greatest injustice.
The sight of someone's pale feet sticking out of the blankets might relate us to Christs descent from the cross. The bare shoulder of Christ on a crucifix might relate us to the shoulder of someone we know. |
according to my gospel,
2nd TIMOTHY Ch2 v8 N.K.J.V. . . . . . . .concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness |
A sharp pain in our own side might relate us to the piercing of Christs side by the Roman Soldiers.
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by the resurrection from the dead. ROMANS 1 : 3-4
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