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Bloom Prayer Chapter 12-14 (Prayer of the Heart, Meditative & Contemplative Prayer) from Bloom (in)courage on Vimeo.
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Preface and Chapter 1 (Simple Prayer)
Chapters 2 and 3 (Prayers of the Forsaken and Examen)
Chapters 4 and 5 (Prayers of Tears and Relinquishment)
Chapters 6 and 7 (Prayers of Formation and Covenant)
Chapters 8 and 9 (Prayers of Adoration and Rest)
Chapters 10 and 11 (Sacramental and Unceasing Prayer}
Okay girlieQs…three chapters today. That’s a LOT of ground to cover so I’m going to have to extract only a thought or two from each chapter. Are you up for the challenge?
Prayer of the Heart – Chapter 12
- the prayer of intimacy (p. 131)
- the Holy Spirit praying within us (p. 136)
- where words fail and the Spirit intercedes
- a posture of receiving (p. 139)
- nurturing a secret history with God; developing a familiar friendship with Jesus (p. 140)
- Entered through the path of love (p. 140)
“…love and tenderness of a child to Father God.” “…Jesus’ relationship with God the Father is, of course, absolutely unique, but experientially we are invited into the same intimacy with Father God that he knew while here in the flesh.”
Common expressions (pp. 137-139) Infinite and varied but examples include:
1. Special revelatory impressions and words the Spirit imparts to the individual (called “rhema).
- a “word in the Word,” in which a particular passage seems to apply to an individual situation in a new way.
- from other people when “a divine revelation from God is applied to the specifics of our lives.
Meditative Prayer – Chapter 13
A full assimilation of Truth which has entered the mind and then into the heart (p. 143, paraphrase). Bound to:
- Scripture
- Devotional writings (p. 145)
- the Bible ceases to be a quotation dictionary and becomes instead ‘wonderful words of life’ that lead us to the Word of life.
- centers on internalizing and personalizing the passage
- The written Word becomes a living word addressed to us. (p. 146)
- We seek to live the experience of Scripture (p. 148)
- Using our senses.
- “…initiated into the reality of which the passage speaks.
- Seeking to discover God near us, longing to encounter his presence.
Caution: We must “resist the temptation to pass over many passages superficially” and indicator of “our internal state” the very thing that needs to be transformed. (p. 146)
Suggestions for Meditatitve Prayer
1. Imagination (pp. 147-148). “To believe that God can sanctify and utilize the imagination is simply to take seriously the Christian idea of incarnation.” (p. 148)
- Desiring to see, hear, touch biblical narrative.
- Move from detached observation to active participation.
Consider Jesus’ teaching in stories/parables.
- Anchors our thoughts and centers our attention
- Brings the emotions into the equations, so that we come to God with both mind and heart.
- Foster raises the concern about the unreliability of imagination but makes the point “God created us with an imagination…he can and does redeem it and use it for the work of the kingdom of God.”
- Another concern: fear of human manipulation/self deception. He agrees these concerns are valid and stresses the need to be dependent upon God.
- No loss of identity
- No merging with cosmic consciousness
- a call “to life-transforming obedience because we have encountered the living God…”
- Known as “lectio divina (divine reading)…in which the mind descends into the heart and both are drawn into the love and goodness of God.”
(pp. 149-150)
Thought Scripture is the “first and purest source for lectio divina,” Foster suggests “great devotional writings that have nurtured Christians throughout the ages”:
- Gregory of Nyssa’s The Life of Moses
- Confessions of Saint Augustine
- The Little Flowers of St. Francis
- Revelations of Divine Love by Juliana of Norwich
- The Imitation of Christ
- John Woolman’s Journal
Contemplative Prayer ~ Chapter 14
What an indictment when Foster declares as this chapter opens, “We now have the dubious distinction of being able to communicate more and say less than any civilization in history.”
Contemplative Prayer:
- immerses us into the silence of God
- the one discipline that can free us from our addiction to words
A call to silence is found in Psalm 62:1, “For God alone my soul waits in silence. And what a WONDERFUL quote by Ammonas, a disciple of Saint Anthony, “I have shown you the power of silence, how thoroughly it heals and how fully pleasing it is to God…. Know that it is by silence that the saints grew, that it was because of silence that the power of God dwelt in them, because of silence that the mysteries of God were known to them.” (Amen?!)
Foster concedes this type of prayer is “not for the novice.” Indicators that might signal maturity and a readiness for Contemplative Prayer include (pp. 156-57):
- continuing hunger for intimacy with God
- ability to forgive others at great personal cost
- a living sense that God alone can satisfy the longings of the human heart
- deep satisfaction in prayer
- realistic assessment of personal abilities and shortcomings
- freedom from boasting about spiritual accomplishments
- wisdom/patience in the face of life demands
He goes so far as to suggest skipping the chapter altogether might be the better choice (p. 157). He has legitimate concerns about spiritual warfare and encourages to pray for protection from anything not of the Lord.
Contemplative prayer “is more an experience of the heart than of the head.” Foster deals with our distrust of feelings based on common teaching, and suggests among other thoughts:
- “In using the language of feeling, contemplatives are referring to a deep experienced sense of God.
- Entering an interior communion.
- “…feelings can be disciplined and sanctified by God just as fully as our reason and our imagination can be.” (p. 159)
Goal of Contemplative Prayer: union with God (p. 159).
- Does not mean loss of individuality.
Two Vital Preparations:
1) Begins in love of God–“…we receive his love for us and love him back in return.”
Didn’t Walter Hilton put it perfectly: contemplation is “love on fire with devotion.”
2) Led into purity of heart–in response to love, “it is only natural to want to be like the Beloved.”
- “Impurity is fatal to union with God. The pure and theimpure can never be united.”
Three Basic Steps into Contemplative Prayer (pp. 161-163)
1) Recollection ~ “a simple recolecting of ourselves until we are unified or whole.”
- “…to let go of all competing distractions until we are truly present where we are.”
2) Inward attentiveness to divine motions ~ a listening stillness
- “There is an inward steady gaze of the heart sometimes called beholding the Lord.”
3) Spiritual ecstacy ~ a work God does upon us (not something we do)
- “fleeting experience rather than staple diet”
Discuss
Whew! Three chapters are a lot no matter when, but the content of these three introduced a fair amount of new information; were any of you already familiar with these types of prayers? As always, I’m interested to know which resonated with you most; if anything challenged your thinking, what questions you might have (I don’t have answers, but it’s always interesting in comments if y’all speak to one another 🙂 ).
Favorite verse
“To believe that God can sanctify and utilize the imagination is simply to take seriously the Christian idea of incarnation.”
(From Meditative Prayer, p. 148.)
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Please don’t be discouraged if you’re falling behind in reading. This is deep content with new concepts for many of us, so do the best you can. It’s just like so much of life, you’ll get out of this study what you invest. Read the chapters if you can, but at least take 30 minutes to watch the videos and read through the post and comments. Doing those things will yield blessing.
Heartfelt thanks to Melissa Greene for joining us the past several sessions; her voice has been a thoughtful addition to our Sofa Girls, hasn’t it? Be sure to check in Wednesday when Jessica and Angie introduce our final guest…and you’re going to love her as much as you’ve enjoyed RoseAnne and Melissa.
With a full heart and a spinning head (and with love for YOU),
~ Robin
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Lyli@3dLessons4Life says
Chapter 12: I love the bottom of page 141 — “I suggest that you begin by inviting God to kindle a fire of love within you. Ask Him to develop an ache in your heart…. I commend you to the prayer of John Donne: ‘Batter my heart, three-personed God.'” — I taught English for many years, and I had totally forgotten about this poem from John Donne. I found it on the internet this weekend and got a bit re-acquainted.
Chapter 13: This quote on page 149 sums it up for me: “Our task is not so much to study the passage as to be initiated into the reality of which the passage speaks. We brood on the truth…. The heart, the mind, and the spirit are awakened….” I realize that I am not dwelling in the word as much as I need to. This chapter was so rich.
Chapter 14: l love the questions for examination on the top of page 157 (Scary!) & Foster’s prayer for protection from spiritual warfare at the bottom of page 157. These were sort of sub-points in the chapter, but might be the biggest thing I take away from this book as a whole. I need to self examen more. I need to be praying those warrior prayers over my family daily. These are 2 areas I need to work on.
Robin Dance says
Lyli,
You know what? It IS about the takeaway that matters to YOU. Every person who invests time in reading the book will glean those things that are meant for her (or him). Sooo, what resonates with me might not speak to you…which is EXACTLY why I love reading comments! We’re all at different places and maturity levels, and hearing others process Foster’s words and the Lord’s leading is why studying in community is WONDERFUL. It’s like I hear the same words to a different tune. 🙂
(Brooding on the Truth…such a PERFECT description, isn’t it??)
Christina says
While reading Chapter 12, Prayer of the Heart, it was a relief to hear Foster “okay” falling asleep during prayer (as the girls also mentioned). There have been many times that I’ve fallen asleep while praying at night, and many times I would wake up feeling guilty! Now, I’m able to look at those prayers as times when I’ve been given the gift of being able to fall asleep in this peaceful state with Him.
Contemplative Prayer: I loved the quote by James Borst (p. 161), “He is closer to my true self than I am myself. He loves me better than I love myself. He is ‘Abba’, Father, to me. I am because HE IS.” -This is powerful, and so very true. I’m (very) far away from reaching this place of Contemplative Prayer, but I was still able to pull so much from this chapter (and enjoyed all 3 chapters).
Robin Dance says
Christina,
I imagine A LOT of people were extended freedom when they read that falling asleep remark :).
Rachael says
Robin, I just wanted you to know that I am reading all your chapter notes from “Prayer.” I am not reading the book from you, but I get so much out of your notes. And I just wanted to thank you for that. I am a reader and will read the book because your highlights captivate me and draw me into desiring to learn more about the discipline of prayer. Thank you again!
Robin Dance says
Rachael,
Thank YOU for your lovely word gift (popping over to YOUR place to love on you a little). SO very thankful that my feeble efforts have challenged you to read more :).
Lynsie says
I can relate to Ch. 12 – The Prayer of the Heart because there have been times in my life when the only way to make it through the day and honestly to even be able to take the next breath was by leaning on God, falling into His arms and resting there. I love Foster’s quote on page 135, “We are encouraged to crawl into the Father’s lap and receive his love and comfort and healing and strength. We can laugh, and we can weep, freely and openly. We can be hugged and find comfort in his arms. And we can worship deep within our spirit.”
For Ch. 13 – Meditative Prayer, the one thing that stood out to me was Giles’ quote on page 151, “You do right in grieving for your sin. However, I advise you to grieve moderately. For you must always believe that God’s power to forgive is greater than your power to sin.” I need to be reminded of this truth more often because I can be hard on myself when I mess up. No sin is too great for God. No matter how bad I think I messed up or disappointed God with my actions or words, He offers forgiveness time and time again.
I really appreciated Foster’s honesty in Ch. 14 – Contempative Prayer when he stated that this type of prayer is not for the beginner. It’s comforting to know that I shouldn’t expect to be at this place at this point in my spiritual walk…that it’s perfectly normal to not be there yet. I love that he gave those indicators on the bottom of page 156 so that we can recognize when we start to approach readiness for Contemplative Prayer. My favorite quote from this chapter is in the last paragraph on page 165, “A time may come when we are no longer able to utter words, but — and here is the glory — we are still able to pray, to pray without words.” Isn’t it amazing how God has prepared a way for us in every stage of our life? Even when we are at a point when we can’t communicate with others around us, God has provided a way we can still communicate with Him, through contemplative prayer.
Robin Dance says
Lynsie,
It’s obvious you’re THINKING and absorbing when you read; that’s special because so often readers fly through the words. You’re trudging, and that, deeply. Thanks, always for your thoughtful insight. It helps me to remember what I’ve read, too :).
Martha says
I am a bit late in responding.. playing catch up. 🙂 These three chapters left my head spinning. I have to say I think I had the most profound revelation in chapter 12 on the Prayer of the Heart. When Foster was discussing the various expressions of this prayer such as Holy Laughter, Glossolia, “resting in the Spirit,” etc., I have to say I was a bit uncomfortable. I tend to be wary of and skeptical about the charismatic, and often think these experiences are things people have made up or embellished or imagined because they are hungry for the miraculous, the extraordinary, the visible experiences. It just seemed to hit me with quiet force in reading this time.. maybe people are not lying about their experiences. Maybe there is more to be experienced in Christ than I have even thought (Eph. 3:20) and I am NOT experiencing it because firstly I don’t have even the faith to allow God the space to do the work. It brought me to a place of asking the Lord.. “Whoever You are, I desire to know You, to experience as much of You as I can on this earth, in this flesh. I don’t want to miss out on something You want to give me because it makes me uncomfortable. I want all of You, whoever You are.” It was a pretty neat breakthrough moment for me.
Following that up with the chapert on Contemplative prayer.. wow. There is far, far more ahead for me on this journey, and it excites and exhilerates me! As well as freaks me out a little. 🙂
Marilyn Ojeda says
I appreciate your honesty. I also use to be a skeptic of many workings I did not undertand until April of 1995. God shook my world. For 20 yearsI’d had him in a beautiful “religious box, contained within my own understanding.” Oh my he broke the box to smiterines and showed me “He works in ways I had not yet understood.” I stand in awe. Your words are a reminder to me, “Whoever You are, I desire to know You, to experience as much of You as I can on this earth, in this flesh. I don’t want to miss out on something You want to give me because it makes me uncomfortable.” Thank you for your transparent heart.
Robin Dance says
MARTHA!!
LOVELOVELOVE your comment because you’re so daggum HONEST. 🙂 Your prayer is PRECIOUS and I imagine you weren’t the only one who squirmed a bit in these chapters. Your prayer is the perfect response, though; just begging God to show you who HE is, to teach you, a willingness to learn and openness to recognize you don’t know it all.
FANtastic, lovie :).
Marilyn Ojeda says
I am also playing catchup…
Chapter 12 – Page 136 – “The old writers spoke of three stages in prayer – prayer of the lips, prayer of the mind and prayer of the heart. In the prayer of the heart we have come to the end of our tether. We are trying to use words but the words fail us. ” How true I find this to be. Often I am without words while in prayer. I search for them, but come up empty handed. Sometimes I feel like I fail because there are no words but now realize that is a good thing and God understands. He just wants to be my friend and wants me to be still.
Chapter 13 – Page 154 – The Prayer “Are there things in me that need to burned out? pride…fear…anger…Consume them each one.” Unfortunately we cannot see ourselves for who we are. We justify our own misbehavior but not that of our brother or sister. This is frustrating to me but God is so patient that and loving that he will find a way to burn them out of us. Thank you Lord for being so kind and gentle in the reshaping process of my character. I need you so much. I think I’m o.k. when in reality I am not. But even that is o.k. because you are with me and know my humanness.
Chapter 14 – Page 163 – “Be silent and listen to God. Let your heart be in such a preparation that his Spirit may impress upon you such virtues as will please him. Let all within you listen to him. This silence of all outward and earthly affection and of human thoughts within is essential if we are to hear his voice.” A discipline that is of great worth. Thinking we always have to have words is utterly foolish and yet I many times strive to be speaking instead of silent before him. In the prayer at the end of the chapter “Doing is easier for me than being. I need your help if I am to be still and listen. I would like to learn how to sink down into the light of your presence until I can become comfortable in that posture.” O.k. Lord that’s what I want. No words, just you and me together.
Robin Dance says
Marilyn,
You seem to be in this season of increasing awareness–who you are and who God is. Those two things, realized together, are a place of fertile ground, to grow in the faith. Thank you for YOUR honesty and response to our reading. It’s like you’re wearing your heart on the outside :).