December 2017
A Contemplative Exercise
for December 2017
The following is a possible framework for the Witnessing of the Word. It
can be personalised, or altered: its purpose is to serve as an example of how
this Saying might be used primarily in the context of a Prayer Group, but it
may be used by individuals if so wished. It is not intended to be definitive.
In the context of a group: the periods of silence should be appropriate
for your group - probably not less than 5 minutes, or more than 15 minutes.
Saying for the month
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret places” Isaiah
45:3 (NIV)
In its entirety, this phrase is “I
will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places”
There are many translations available, for instance:
“I will give you the treasures of darkness
and riches hidden in secret places” (NRSV)
To begin the exercise,
first spend a short while in relaxation and preparing to be still; becoming
aware of the sounds around you and putting them aside; and offering this time
of prayer to God.
Say this introductory
invitation to prayer, then keep a further minute or two of silence:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11.28
Introduction to the first silence - a preparation for listening with the
mind:
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
Advent is a period of
waiting, a time for reflection and prayer, in preparation for Christmas which
arrives during the short, sometimes dark days of winter. In the story of the nativity, the wise men
bring their treasures to a lowly place of shelter hidden in the heart of
The Israelites had been
captive in
In this passage God is
comforting his people through the prophet Isaiah, and giving them reason for
hope. He tells them He has forgiven
them. He promises that they would be led out of captivity back to their homeland
and that they would have riches beyond all expectation. God has appointed Cyrus the Persian King to
capture
Sometimes it can take an
unforeseen event to bring us to our knees, and to awaken us to God’s
riches. Paul (previously Saul) was
persecuting the new Christians, and it took God’s intervention to bring him to
his senses. Christ appears to Paul in
dazzling light on the road to
The Wilderness can be seen as
a place of isolation and emptiness.
However it is also a place of encounter with God. Moses has just entered the Sinai desert and
is tending his flock of sheep on a day that seems to be no different from any
other. He then sees what appears to be a bush on fire. He turns aside to have a closer look and sees
that the bush is lit by a brilliant light and there he encounters God. From the
bush Moses hears God’s voice and listens to His message for him. It was this decision to turn aside that led
Moses to his encounter with God, which changes his life forever. Throughout the ages the wilderness and
desert, taking many varied shapes, have been places of encounter with God.
We now listen to these words
of God giving hope and comfort. Let them sink into our minds as they were first
spoken by God to his people in captivity and now to us.
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
A time is now kept for
silence of the mind - between 5 and 15 minutes
The silence concludes with
a short thanksgiving, and/or repeat the Saying:
Father, we thank you for
the gift of your Word.
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
Introduction to the second silence - a preparation for listening with
the heart:
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
We all go through times of
bereavement, loss and loneliness, all places which seem dark to us. Recent statistics show that a high
percentage of our present population live on their own; this is partly due to
people living longer. There are a great
many people who experience loneliness which is highlighted over Christmas.
However there is a distinction
between loneliness and solitude.
Contemplative Prayer helps us recognise the solitude that is full of
riches, far from the emptiness and depression experienced with loneliness. We discover this at our Fellowship Retreats
and Quiet Days when we are filled with the riches of God’s Word, which in turn
can be reflected out through us to our neighbour and through intercession.
When people come together for
a retreat or quiet day, in some cases not knowing anyone else; by the time the
retreat ends they find they have come to know each other in the silence in a
completely different way than that experienced with words. A rich bond has
taken place. This is the paradox; the loneliness we might experience on our
arrival at the retreat, is transformed into a profound solitude alive with the
riches of deep communion. In finding
true solitude we are letting go of all that we are captive to, and
relinquishing our emotional hold on the physical props we might normally be
depending on, and turning instead to the unexpected riches and resources which
lie within us.
I’ve always found the story
of Silas Marner by George Elliot very moving.
It is a story of betrayal, abandonment, and captivity, and eventually
transformation and liberation. Silas is
cruelly betrayed by his best friend; his friends and community all turn against
him and abandon him. So he leaves his home and his village and finds a job in
another town as a weaver. His life
becomes one of emptiness, monotony and toil.
His only pleasure is the money he has earned and he becomes captive to
his hoard of gold, which is later stolen. Silas is distraught. Then one night he comes into his living room
and thinks he has found his precious gold on the hearth by the fire. The gold
is in fact the gold of the hair of a little girl who has come into his house,
frozen with the cold and is lying sleeping on the hearth. The discovery of Ettie transforms the heart
of Silas; instead of his heart being enslaved by his hoard of gold, he has
found liberation in the true riches of human love and happiness.
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
A time is now kept for
silence of the heart - between 5 and 15 minutes
Conclude the silence with a
short thanksgiving and/or by repeating the Saying:
Father, we thank you that your Word is alive and within us.
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
Introduction to the time of intercession – we use our will to reflect
God’s word outwards.
“I will give you………..riches stored in secret
places”
With this word in
mind we can now bring the meaning alive not only for ourselves, but also most
importantly for the lives of others, in our intercession.
Say the name of a person or a group of people, and
after a short pause, repeat the saying. For example:
‘Alison and your family ……
“I will give you riches
stored in secret places” ’
Conclude the time of
intercession with words of thanksgiving:
Father, we thank you that your Word has gone out
through us
to those for whom we pray.
Use the Fellowship Prayer
or another closing prayer to conclude your time of contemplative prayer.
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for all your
unsearchable riches which pour forth from you as light from the sun, in
boundless profusion and generosity, whether received, ignored or rejected. And
now we offer to you, in so far as we are able, as an emptiness to be filled
with your divine fullness, ourselves, our souls and bodies; all that we are,
all that we have and all that we do. Amen
You may wish to say
the Grace together before departing.
This month's exercise was contributed
by MN