Deep within each of us is a prayer longing to be expressed.
The prayer of the heart is such a prayer.
It consists of two simple phrases,
One that is said on the inhalation and one said as you exhale.
Early Christians used to pray,
Come,
Lord Jesus,
In this fashion.
We'll spend time in this exercise finding those prayers that are as close to us as our very breath.
The beauty of this prayer is the way it stays with you all day,
All week,
Even a lifetime if you allow it.
So our intention is to allow our name for God and our desire to evolve into a special prayer.
Let's begin.
Start out seated in a comfortable position.
Make sure your body weight is distributed in such a way that you feel stable.
Then take about five deep,
Slow breaths and allow the tension of the day to flow out with each exhalation.
After five deliberate breaths,
Turn your attention away from counting and just allow your breath to find its natural pace.
What is your deepest and truest desire in life right this moment?
If you find your desires feel tacky or too worldly,
Try suspending judgment and instead looking at what's at the base of that desire.
When you check in with your deepest and truest self,
What is it that you want from God?
And then when you identify your deepest desire,
Give it a short phrase.
For example,
If your deep desire is inner freedom,
Your phrase might be freedom or inner freedom.
Just make sure your desire phrase is not too long.
I hope you've come up with your phrase,
If not you can pause this prayer practice and come back.
But once you have your phrase,
It's time to turn your attention to your favorite name for God.
And that's God as you understand God.
How do you image the Creator?
Choose whatever name seems to fit you best.
Some examples include wisdom,
Father,
Mother,
Mystery.
But you can be as creative as you want to be.
But again,
Keep the name rather short.
And if you need more time to come up with the name for God that really fits for you,
You can pause this prayer practice and come back.
But once you have chosen your name,
Combine that name with your desire.
For example,
If my phrase is freedom,
And the name I choose for addressing God is wisdom,
My prayer of the heart might be wisdom,
Grant me freedom.
Spend a few moments coming up with your two part prayer.
And begin to say,
Either aloud or silently your phrase.
Inhale on the name for God,
And exhale on the desire or vice versa.
Spend several minutes breathing this prayer.
Make it your own.
And allow God to inhabit this prayer.
After saying this prayer several times,
Allow yourself to sink into deep,
Calm silence.
Allow the love that radiates from the source of all life to fill you and surround you.
If you want to be sure to remember this phrase,
To pray it throughout the day,
Write it down.
You might want to place it on the back of a business card and put it in your wallet or pocket,
Or put it on a post-it next to your computer or on the door of your refrigerator.
You can find this prayer and 49 others in my book,
50 Ways to Pray.
I'm Teresa Blythe,
And I'm so glad you chose to pray with me in this way today.
