A Prayer For Presence, Gratitude, And Kindness

Too often prayer is presented as petitions. But the word 'prayer' is simply religious jargon for a relationship with what we call God. In truth, there are only three prayers: Presence, Gratitude, and Kindness. This guided prayer aims to lead you into these three ways of being with God in the world.

Transcript

Welcome to this time of prayer.

This is a practice of the three core prayers,

Presence,

Gratitude and kindness.

It is best to be sitting for this prayer,

So find a chair where you can sit comfortably while remaining awake and alert.

We will think about and relate to God in our different and unique ways.

If the language I use for God is not yours,

Then please substitute your own ways of thinking and imagining.

I shall lead you into and through this prayer.

You can pause the recording if you would like to linger at any point.

If you find yourself distracted,

This is not a problem.

Please do not criticise yourself for this.

This is what minds do.

Gently come back to the prayer.

If you find yourself drawn in different directions,

Then let go of what I am saying and follow where the Spirit leads you.

Some people find it helpful to have a journal or a pad of paper to hand to jot things down as they go.

Others prefer to make notes at the end.

And so to begin.

First,

Stop and be still for a moment.

Be grounded.

Feel your feet flat on the floor.

Feel your bottom on the seat.

Your back upright or resting against the chair.

Take a breath.

Feel your body move with your breathing.

Be present in this moment.

Notice how you are.

What you're thinking.

How you're feeling.

How your body is.

Relax.

Be present to yourself.

Notice what is going on around you.

Movements.

The sensation of air on your skin.

The temperature.

Be present in this place.

Feel your way into your body.

Down from your head.

Deeper than your skin.

Into your chest.

Your heart.

Your belly.

Your body.

Be present in yourself.

Become aware of God present with you.

How are you aware of God present?

Is it something you feel around you?

Do you feel it inside you?

Give yourself time to become more deeply aware of God's presence.

What is God's presence like?

Where in your body do you feel God's presence?

Be present to God who is present to you.

God is here.

Around you.

In you.

As you.

To be present is to realise the truth of this.

To be present is to experience this in your body.

In the feelings and sensations that are always simply here.

On your skin.

And beneath your skin.

In your chest and heart.

Your stomach and belly.

Say to God,

Here I am.

When I say,

Here I am,

I say it to myself.

I say it to life.

I say it to the universe.

I say it to you,

God.

You who are always inevitably present in and through and around.

When I say,

Here I am,

God,

I mean,

I don't know what you are.

And I don't know what I am.

But nevertheless,

Here I am.

This is enough.

Inhabit the sensation of your own presence.

And the presence of God.

Allow this moment to expand.

Now breathe.

You are alive.

Feel the air flowing through your mouth or nostrils.

Feel your chest rise and fall.

Your belly expand and contract.

Breathing is required of you.

You do not have to earn this breath.

This is life breathing in you.

This is gratuitous,

Free,

Unmerited.

You have been given life,

The greatest gift of all.

And you are being given life with every breath without any effort on your part.

Life is a gift.

Accept this gift.

To be present is to accept the gift of life.

And you are a gift.

Accept this gift.

To be present is to accept the gift that you are.

When you realise this,

Gratitude arises naturally in your heart.

Allow this feeling of gratitude to expand.

Gratitude is our primary prayer.

So express thanks.

And don't move on too quickly.

I might not have lived.

I am held alive by conditions I do not control.

One day,

When the conditions change,

I will cease to live.

I breathe in.

When I am present,

I feel this in this body,

This breath.

When I breathe,

There is gratitude.

I breathe out.

Thank you.

What are you grateful for?

Name some things in your mind.

Or if you want to,

You could write a list.

As you name each thing,

Express your thanks.

Feel thankful.

What simple everyday things are you grateful for?

Be your home,

A friend,

Having enough,

Your health,

Your safety.

But right now,

You are alright.

As you identify each thing,

Express thanks.

And what are you grateful for today,

Right now?

And what is good in your life?

And a little while relishing this sense of gratitude for your life.

And what is good in your life?

And what is good in your life?

Feelings of gratitude may be fleeting.

You may not even notice them.

For life is hard,

At least at times.

Give some attention to your body.

You may have some pain or discomfort.

Give some attention to your feelings.

You may be upset in some way.

Perhaps sad.

Or angry.

Or regretful.

Or feeling bad about yourself.

Give some attention to your life.

Maybe there are situations that are difficult or stressful.

Frightening,

Painful or harmful.

Life is hard.

None of us escapes this.

None of us is the person we hope to be.

How do you respond to all this?

Do you distract yourself?

Are you resentful?

Do you blame yourself?

Are you resigned to your fate?

Do you despair?

God meets us in all this.

This is one way in which we understand Holy Week and the Crucifixion.

God is with us.

And more than this,

When we hurt,

God hurts.

Life is hard,

At least at times.

Most of this is not our fault.

We have little control over this.

We cannot avoid it.

And so I invite you to extend some kindness to yourself.

Here,

Now,

In this stillness,

This moment,

With a degree of presence and gratitude,

Open your heart to yourself.

Extend the hand of friendship and kindness towards yourself.

Allow this friendship and kindness to expand.

You're not trying to get rid of what hurts,

But rather to offer kindness towards yourself in your suffering.

Know that you are loved by God and held by God.

And now think of someone you love.

In what ways is life hard for them?

Feel the care you have for them.

Extend friendship and kindness towards them.

Know that they are held by God and loved by God.

And now think of someone for whom you have no particular feelings,

Some casual acquaintance.

Maybe someone you see in the street or who serves you in a shop.

In what ways do you imagine life is hard for them?

Extend kindness towards them.

Know that they are loved by God and held by God.

And now think of someone you find a bit difficult.

Don't choose someone too difficult or someone who's been abusive to you.

Just someone you find a bit tricky.

What do you find difficult about them?

In what way do you imagine life is hard for them?

Extend some kindness towards them.

You don't have to feel kindness,

Just extend kindness towards them.

Know that they are loved by God and held by God.

And now widen your scope.

Think of your neighbourhood.

Your town.

Your country.

The whole world.

Recognise that there are many who find life hard.

And extend some kindness towards them.

Know that everything is loved by God and held by God.

And finally return to yourself.

Treat yourself as you would someone you love.

Extend kindness at the hand of friendship towards yourself.

Now if you would like to speak to God about any of this,

Show God whatever you would like.

Leave a space for God to respond to you.

Most of us do not hear words out loud from God,

But we can sense what God is saying to us.

Or maybe an image or a memory comes to mind.

And respond to God in whatever way you wish.

Show God whatever you would like.

Okay.

This time of prayer is coming to an end soon.

What would you like to say or do as we end?

How does God wish to end this time with you?

Although this time of prayer is ending,

You do not have to let go of this connection with God or leave God's presence.

You can carry it with you wherever you go.

It is available to you anywhere.

What would you like to carry with you from this time of prayer?

May God bless you and keep you.

May God's face shine upon you.

May God be gracious to you.

May God look kindly upon you and give you peace.

Amen.

Reviews

This track is soothing and reassuring, and infused with so much wisdom. ✨ 🙏🏼

This has been such a wonderful prayer time. I liked the language that was used because I could relate to it. The accent of the voice was also very comfortable to me which I found indusive.

This teacher’s expressive narration & voice quality is imbued with sacred presence, and the content of this meditation activates awareness again & again. Grateful to have discovered him. Thank you!

Such a sweet and relaxing time of refocusing off myself and giving kindness and gratitude to others. Thank you Julianne and Heavenly Father.

Here I am

Absolutely awesome

thank you for this, I will return to it again and again. it has been hard for me to stay tethered to my relationship with God in this era - this is a beautiful reminder of the tender present relationship wrapped in compassion. I'm looking for ports in the storm - this will be one of them.

a reflective prayer time, thank you.💞

Incredibly touching, grounded prayer. Thank you so much for this.

Wonderful meditation with perfect balance. 💗🙏💗

Steady pace, appreciated the balance of guidance and space. Feeling more grounded and forgiven and supported. Thank you.