HEART-CENTRED PRAYER
Got longings? Got personal needs? Got questions about life or God?
These are matters of the heart, and all of them can become a focus for
prayer. If you can give yourself the gift of at least ten to fifteen minutes
of time set aside, you can offer up these forms of prayer from the heart.
Sit or lie in a comfortable position so that your body is stable and your
weight is distributed evenly. Take about five deep, slow breaths letting
the tension or concerns of the day flow out with each exhale. After five
breaths, let go of trying to control your breathing so it finds its own
natural pace.
Consider what it is you would like to ask of God. What is your deep longing?
What niggling question would you like to lay in God's lap? What do you
need in your life right now? Come up with a word or short phrase that
expresses your desire; e.g. 'freedom within', 'reassurance', etc.
Think of your preferred name for God: Creator, Mother, Father, Holy
One, Divine Spirit ... Combine your name for God with your short phrase
that expresses your longing. Spend a little time forming your two part
phrase.
Let that two-part phrase become your prayer from the heart, saying it
aloud or silently repeatedly for several minutes. You may choose to inhale
on your name for God and exhale as you express your longing. Just
breathe your prayer, let God become part of it. After a few minutes slip
into contemplative silence as you let the love and attention of God fill
you and surround you. End with a word of thanks.
You may choose to let your prayer become a kind of daily mantra for the
week. Write it down on a sticky note that you attach to a mirror or your
refrigerator or near your computer screen; or on the back of a business
card you can keep in a pocket or your wallet. Use those reminders to
invite yourself set time aside to pray again from your heart.