As we begin this time of prayer, I invite you to notice your own hands.
What is touching them right now?
Pause and describe the sensations you are noticing in your hands.
What support are your hands resting into? Take a moment to really let them feel that support.
Then gently holding one hand in another, notice how it feels to hold your own hand. Maybe there are some fresh ways to describe what that feels like. Take your time. There is no hurry.
Still holding your hand, now notice how the other hand feels to be held. Take some time to savor what this feels like, in this moment, for you to be held. Just allow a part of you to feel held for a while.
If you do not have a second hand to hold or be held, notice how another part of your body is still there offering to support you. Gently lean into that support. Savor this and honor all the feelings that arise in you with this exercise. You are seen. You are held in a loving gaze.
After you have savored the sensations of holding and being held, invite the Holy Spirit to guide your time of prayer as you listen to this text.
Luke 4:31-40 NLT
Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—cried out, shouting, “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.
After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed everyone.
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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