“Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmoste centre in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception – which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error: and, to KNOW,
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without.”
-Robert Browning Spencer
Shall we pray to God’s Presence and Power in the cosmos, opening ourselves to the infilling of Spirit?
or…
Shall we center on the Spirit within, allowing it to emerge?
The wording of these questions, as posed by my instructor Dr. Tom, requires first answering for ourselves some deep questions. What is prayer? What is God? Who am I? And, what is my relationship to God?
Essentially we are asking about life, the Universe and everything. This being a blog post, I don’t intend to cover them all. Rather, I pose these questions for your own personal reflection – and mine.
Often one’s approach to prayer depends on your answers to the above questions. What are your current beliefs about your relationship with the Divine? We can pray to God, for God, with God, and as God. When we pray to God our relationship is like that of child to parent. Praying for God is devotional prayer, we wish to know and experience God. In the sense of praying with God, God is an energy or power one can “plug into.” Mystical prayer is praying as God. This is praying without ceasing and living within the awareness of the Divine.
Most major religions practice some form of prayer. It is amazing how this one word is interpreted and practiced differently throughout the world. Some say that prayer is communion with God. This communion is often practiced in conversational form. For others it is the practice of the presence of God.
How we pray is a direct result of the lenses we wear – our beliefs and ideas through which we experience the world. Is one answer more right than the other?
As we question our own answers to these questions perhaps we will find that it is possible that through prayer Spirit can be both infilling and emerging.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and ideas. To leave a comment simply fill out the form below including your name & email address, website is optional. Thank you!
Love & blessings on your journey,
Jeniffer
October 17, 2013
Theology can sound and be rather dry at times, dare I say boring; we are privileged to have an artist in our midst. Your post is beautifully written and speaks to my heart as well as my mind. I, like you, believe prayer is both, an infilling and emerging, much like breathing. There are many ways to pray and we each pray from where we are in consciousness. In Romans 8:26-27, the Apostle Paul says we don’t know how we ought to pray, but Spirit who knows our hearts and thoughts better than we ourselves, actually prays through us. Reading your post I hear the beauty of Spirit praying through an artist.
October 18, 2013
I love the artistry in your writing and Pics. Thanks for sharing your heart.
October 18, 2013
Absolutely! Where we find God and how we pray is a result of the lens we wear and also the choices that appear in ones life. Realizing there is a God within and without covers all the bases and leaves seekers to pull on the God they need at the moment. And that’s OK. It leaves our ability to evolve our concept of God as we evolve and change in consciousness.
October 23, 2013
Yes, both infilling and emerging. This resonates with me in the context that God is everywhere present. Beautiful post.