November 2018
“I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
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 not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Isaiah 49.15,16 (NIV)
To begin the exercise,
first spend a short while in relaxation and preparing to be still; become aware
of the sounds around you and put them aside; offer 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 not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
The fall of
Isaiah prophesies that the exiles will be
released from their captivity in Babylon, which was brought about by their
constant rebellion and faithlessness and their refusal to listen and to
understand God’s message. The Israelites are complaining bitterly at their
predicament; they feel they have been abandoned. Their lament in verse 14 is brief but
poignant: ‘the Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me’. They have seen their beloved city in
ruins. But God, can no more forget his
people than a mother can forget the baby at her breast. Like a master architect he thinks about his
plans for them day and night so much so that he engraves them on the palms of
His hands.
It was the custom in
The exiles are the surviving remnant of
Let us now prepare for our first silence, the
silence of the mind, and we listen to God speaking to us as He spoke to the
Exiles so many years ago. The Saying is
just as relevant now as it was then. He
says to us: “I will not forget you. See
I have engraved you on the palms of my hands”.
“I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
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 not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
Introduction to the second silence - a preparation for listening with
the heart:
“I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
Tattooing is a habit that has become widely
practiced today, particularly in the West. People have all kinds of phrases,
names, and pictures that have some significance to them tattooed on different parts
of their bodies.
But spiritually, God has engraved us for all
time on the palms of his hands, like a perfect engraving on glass or stone or
marble. It brings to mind the beautiful
hands of Jesus, pierced forever as he willingly laid down his life for us, a
supreme act of unconditional and sacrificial love.
Our hands are forever in use. They are a powerful example of the continuous
act of creation. We use our hands for a
multitude of purposes from creating works of art, music, and dance, and essential
for our everyday tasks; housework, gardening and all the practical and mundane
things that need to be done. God is the master sculptor and the master
potter. He created us from the beginning and continues to mould us as we open
our hearts and lives more deeply to Him.
I have a small sculpture of the Lord holding a little child tenderly in
the palm of His hand. The hand and the
child are one whole and perfect sculpture and they cannot be separated, just as
nothing can separate us from the love of God.
This month we remember all those millions of
men and women who sacrificed their lives in war for their country, and our
freedom. We can be comforted by the fact that each and every person who laid
down their lives is indelibly engraved on the palms of our Lord’s hands. He
will never forget them and the sacrifice they made.
Whatever obstacles, illness, bereavement, or
sorrow we go through in life, we have the complete assurance that God will
place His mighty hand upon us, and will strengthen us as He strengthened His
people
Now we have our second silence, the silence of the heart, as we
allow this saying to sink down to the very depths of our being, the still
centre, where we find God. So we listen
again to God saying “I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the
palms of my hands”.
“I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
A time is now kept for
silence of the heart - between 5 and 15 minutes
Conclude the silence with a
short thanksgiving and/or repeat the Saying:
Father, we thank you that your Word is alive and within us.
“I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
Introduction to the time of intercession – we use our will to reflect
God’s Word outwards.
“I will not
forget you. See, I have engraved you on
the palms of my hands
In our time of
intercession, we bring into the silence anyone for whom we wish to pray, enabling
the Word to be spoken to them through us.
We may wish to pray
for individuals who are in despair through grief, illness, personal trial or in
other kind of need; any who are suffering and in need through persecution, conflict
of ideologies or political belief, economic hardship; the lonely and the
oppressed; places in the world where there is need of prayer for peace and
reconciliation.
At this time, and
especially in this year, we remember those who died in the Great Wars and in
other armed conflicts.
Say the name of a person or a group of people, and
after a short pause, repeat the saying. For example:
‘You my people, who are persecuted and afraid …… “I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”
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