Each week we gather to listen in the heart of God. More than just listening for God’s voice, we are listening from within the womb of God to hear her heart, the tone and intention of her voice towards us. The more we linger in this place of Presence, we discover the qualities of this Presence changing us. We are being changed from the inside out. We are becoming like the One we are keeping company with.
We offer the opportunity to listen to one another’s encounter with God in the prayer. This place of speaking out, of finding our own words and voice to describe our experience of Mystery is a place of encounter as well.
Here is a voice from the community which gathered this week. May the Spirit lead you into your own encounter with God and help you find your own words to describe it. Your encounter is real. We bear witness to the life of the Spirit of God within one another.
Speak out! Tell others.
The words leap from the page.
Who would I tell? Where to begin?
My story of freedom from oppression seems small, plain.
And yet…
Set free by God
Whose great love, marvelous, faithful love,
Enduring forever-
That satisfies and fills even me
Led by his hand to a place where I can live,
Truly and freely.
How can I keep it to myself?
~ E. Olivier
Psalm 107:1-9 (NLT)
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in the wilderness,
lost and homeless.
Hungry and thirsty,
they nearly died.
“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he rescued them from their distress.
He led them straight to safety,
to a city where they could live.
Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
For Reflection and Prayer:
Was there a word, a phrase, image, or feeling that ‘shimmered’ as you listened? Allow it to land in your heart. Stay with it. Savor it.
Reflect on what you heard. What effect does it have on you? What meaning does it hold for you? What does the Holy Spirit seem to be conveying to you? Talk it over in your prayer. Perhaps you want to draw or color your prayer or journal the conversation.
As the time of prayer comes to a close, share some moments of quiet with Jesus, simply resting safely in his presence.
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