November 2020
A Contemplative Exercise
for November
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
"This is my resting place; here will I make my home for ever, for such is my desire"
Psalm 132.14
(This Saying follows on from our Saying for October when we prayed with words from Exodus 25: "Make me a sanctuary ... according to the design I shall show you". We try to build an inner space within which God can dwell; now we seek to allow Him fully to inhabit that space....)
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:
"This is my resting place; here will I make my home for ever, for such is my desire"
Psalm 132 is one of six special Psalms relating to the King. They are associated with ceremonies of the Jewish New Year Festival. It seems that the Judaean King was anointed afresh in the Temple using ancient rituals. He in turn renews his commitment to the ideals of Israelite life – mercy, justice and truth.
On the day there is a great procession
from the Western Hill of the Holy City.
Great numbers of people are present, among them the King. At the centre of the procession priests in
their robes carry the Ark. The Ark is
basically a box, beautifully inlaid with gold and in the box are the tablets of
stone with the law engraved on them and the box may well have carried other
sacred things such as the rod of Aaron.
This special New Year ceremony reminds
people not only of the importance of the King, but also that God is King. The Ark symbolised above all the presence of
God the King. Wherever the Ark is, there
is the real presence and power of God.
The procession sets off. The Ark is right there in the centre of it
all and as they approach the Temple a great cry goes up (recorded in verse 8): Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place.
The King enters the Inner Court and is
there enthroned and anointed – just as Solomon had been years before.
There were official prophets whose
role was to give the King and the nation a message from God. The gist of that message as recorded in the
psalm is this: I have chosen Zion. I desire it for my dwelling place. This is my resting place for ever; here will
I make my home, for such is my desire.
The Ark, the great symbol of the
presence and power of God is then returned to its place in the Temple for
another year.
Can we imagine ourselves caught up in the excitement of that New Year procession? Sense the commitment to the presence of God himself as he says through those temple prophets:
"This is my resting place for ever; here will I make my home, for such is my desire"
We may wish to shorten the sentence as we repeat it....
"This is my resting place for ever" or "here will I make my home"
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.
"This is my resting place for ever; here will I make my home, for such is my desire"
Introduction to the second silence - a preparation for listening with
the heart:
"This is my resting place for ever; here will I make my home, for such is my desire"
So we sought to enter with our minds into the experience of the annual procession into the Temple in Jerusalem – here was the place where God’s presence was to be found more deeply than anywhere else. It was the place where he himself wanted to be.
In 2 Corinthians 6.16 Paul asserts: We are the temple of the living God. We therefore are God’s resting place for
ever. It is here that God will make his
home. He longs for that to be so. He wants to make his home within us.
The word ‘temple’ is linked with the
word ‘con-templ-ation’. It is as we join
in this prayer of contemplation that we allow ourselves to be the ‘temple’, to
be the place in which God can rest and make himself at home. This is the place where he can live and work
and have his being.
In our contemplation, we are built
into a spiritual place where God can be – and Jesus is the foundation stone of
that presence.
King Solomon built his temple to the
glory of God, paying special attention to the Holy of Holies where the Ark was
to be kept. Everything was overlaid with
precious gold.
You and I are the temple. Everything we are and everything we do are
intended for the glory of God.
As we listen now, our most holy place
will be filled with the presence of God.
We allow ourselves to be filled with the pure gold of God’s presence.
"This is my resting place for ever; here will I make my home, for such is my desire"
Again, we may wish to shorten the sentence as we repeat it....
"This is my resting place for ever" or "here will I make my home"
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.
"This is my resting place for ever; here will I make my home, for such is my desire"
Introduction to the time of intercession – we use our will to reflect God’s Word outwards.
We
now use the Saying in intercession for others – bringing into God’s presence
people for whom we wish to pray.
We
may want to remember
…
those who are seeking faith; who are finding prayer and worship difficult at a
time when church services are non-existent or feel strange; the wider Church
and those responsible for ministry.
…
people with responsibility for government and guidance at this time; those
researching vaccination and treatments for the Covid virus; leaders of the
nations of the world
… individuals who are suffering from illness, especially anxiety and depression; those who feel alone and isolated
Again, we may wish to shorten the sentence as we repeat it after naming those for whom we wish to pray: for example,
Ann: God says to you: "This is my resting place" or even "You are my resting place"
All you refugees and displaced persons: God says to you "......here will I make my home" or even "in you I will make my home"
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, until you are all in all and we are complete. Amen
You may wish to say
the Grace together before departing.
This month's exercise was contributed by AE