Listening to God Through Contemplative Practices
Theme For The Week
Reflection By Robbin Brent
Be still, and know that I am God.
- Psalm 46:10
In yesterday’s reflection, Malcom McLaurin wrote about how following our baptismal promises can be dangerous. Yet, if we are willing to overcome our fear and listen to a deeper voice calling us to make the
often-difficult choices, those choices will lead to new life. But how do we listen to God? The season of Lent offers us the perfect opportunity to engage with spiritual practices that help us to listen more deeply: to ourselves, to others, and to God. This week we shift from listening to ourselves to exploring several contemplative practices that can help us to be more faithful listeners to God.
Contemplative practices are intentional actions or activities that we do to connect more directly with the awareness of the Holy in our lives. Today we will begin by preparing. Following are a few ideas you might want to consider to help you get started.
Create a designated space in your home for reading, reflection, practice, and prayer. You may want to keep a journal here, as well as some meaningful items that remind you of your intention.
Bring an open mind and heart, and start small. We will be listen- ing with the “ears of our hearts,” listening from a place of openness, curiosity, kindness, and vulnerability. And even spending just a few minutes a day in silence, resting in the arms of God, will be valuable.
Seek the support of others. You can invite others to read and reflect with you, or you could join our Lenten retreat private group on Facebook (learn more at livingcompass.org/lent).
Making It Personal: Have you had, or do you currently have, a regular spiritual practice? Which of the suggestions in this reflection have you already tried or want to try? How might you reengage, or deepen, that practice?
Follow along with us this Lent season with our daily devotional and engage in discussion in our closed facebook group moderated by Robbin Brent, Jan Kwiatowski, and Scott Stoner.
In this group, participants will have a chance to share their responses to the prompts in the daily readings, and also the chance to receive additional material for reflection.