Learning to pray with the “eyes of our heart.”
Probably most Jesus-followers have heard of Lectio Divina – “Divine Reading.”
A way of reading (and re-reading, at least four times) Scripture for the purpose of reflection, response and, of course, prayer.
King David made this proclamation:
The heaven’s declare the glory of God;
The skies proclaim the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1)
Then he goes on to say,
Day after day, they pour forth speech (Psalm 19:2)…
In other words, as we “look and see” creation, it has something to say to us!
That is Visio Divina…not just looking, but seeing, and hearing!
One can practice Visio Divina, praying with the eyes (holy seeing) as we look deeply & listen equally to what God-through-nature is saying to us. That is, if King David knew what he was talking about (smile)…
…and, we can also listen to the Lord, as already mentioned, through other media.
With this in mind, I’ve been practicing.
Starting easy.
I’ve used pictures I’ve taken, and pictures I’ve found on the internet…
Here are three:
Why? I don’t know… I can’t really tell you.
First look, I saw the three asleep and thought it was the guards at Jesus tomb.
Then I looked closer – duh! It wasn’t the guards – it was the three disciples Jesus took with Him into the Olive Press (the Garden of Gethsemane) the night He prayed His most vulnerable prayer EVER!
I read the passages that tie in with this story (Matthew 26, Luke 22, Mark 14, John 18).
I’m the disciple in the front (probably Peter, after all, his mouth often got him in trouble – GULP!).
That’s how I sleep – all covered up – mouth buried – hugging myself tightly…
My spirit is so willing….BUT….my flesh is so weak…
Can I not watch and pray for one hour?
How can I possibly be victorious over the soon-coming temptation?
Once again, the Lord affirmed my prayer… “Awaken my soul, Lord God Almighty, that I might draw near!”
So, what’s the purpose of this blog?
Maybe to simply introduce you to a new-to-you spiritual discipline…
A practice whereby you begin to see Jesus, His heart, and His messages to you that lead you to prayer in new and somewhat different ways…
The thing I am learning over the course of 2020 as I seek to pursue Him more deeply –
1) He is right in front of me…always headed my way! He is pursuing me!!!!
2) It is through spiritual practices, where the most deepening intimacy is revealed.
Here Him say to you:
