Want a Little Challenge? A New-to-Me Spiritual Discipline.....and my Pursuit of the Almighty

A new-to-me spiritual discipline has to do with "divine seeing."  

Learning to pray with the "eyes of our heart."

Probably most Jesus-followers have heard of Lectio Divina - "Divine Reading."

A way of reading (and re-reading, at least four times) Scripture for the purpose of reflection, response and, of course, prayer.

I, in particular, love this type of practice.

It's a most comfortable form of reading and praying that fits my personality most.

From: https://www.looktohimandberadiant.com/2018/09/lectio-divina-graphic-organizer.html

But, not everyone responds, or enjoys study and prayer in the same fashion.

Some folks worship more through art (paintings, sculpture, or other created media), via creation or through creating...but, all by means of "sight."

As the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians, he asked that God would give them wisdom and insight, and that the "eyes of their heart would be enlightened... (Eph. 1:17-18).

King David made this proclamation:

The heaven's declare the glory of God;
The skies proclaim the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1)

Then he goes on to say,

Day after day, they pour forth speech (Psalm 19:2)...

In other words, as we "look and see" creation, it has something to say to us!

That is Visio Divina...not just looking, but seeing, and hearing!

One can practice Visio Divina, praying with the eyes (holy seeing) as we look deeply & listen equally to what God-through-nature is saying to us. That is, if King David knew what he was talking about (smile)...

...and, we can also listen to the Lord, as already mentioned, through other media.

With this in mind, I've been practicing.

Starting easy.

I've used pictures I've taken, and pictures I've found on the internet...

Here are three:

With this background, the remainder of this blog ties in with what I shared last week....so you may have to go back and re-read it, or read it for the first time...

I mentioned that I've been praying two prayers every day over Lent...and the Lord is showing up as I pray them.

Not always comfortably so...but definitely challenging me and convicting me in His ever-so-gentle-way!

One of those prayers is this: 

Awake my soul, Lord God Almighty, that I might draw near!

It's a dangerous prayer....and one the Lord wants to answer, because from Genesis onward through Scripture, He proves how much He longs to be intimate with His followers.

This prayer initiated with a story in Numbers about Moses' sister, Miriam...a revelation that snuck slowly into my heart as I practiced Lectio Divina...

But, the very next day I had set aside for practicing "Visio Divina."

I wasn't looking for something in particular that tied into the day before, I was just browsing Pinterest for pictures.

Very! Randomly!

My goal - to answer this question: What causes me pause?

From there, I'd begin my prayer journey.

Here is the picture that caught my eye:

Why?  I don't know... I can't really tell you.

First look, I saw the three asleep and thought it was the guards at Jesus tomb.

Then I looked closer - duh! It wasn't the guards - it was the three disciples Jesus took with Him into the Olive Press (the Garden of Gethsemane) the night He prayed His most vulnerable prayer EVER!

I read the passages that tie in with this story (Matthew 26, Luke 22, Mark 14, John 18).

I'm the disciple in the front (probably Peter, after all, his mouth often got him in trouble - GULP!).

That's how I sleep - all covered up - mouth buried - hugging myself tightly...

My spirit is so willing....BUT....my flesh is so weak...

Can I not watch and pray for one hour?

How can I possibly be victorious over the soon-coming temptation?

Once again, the Lord affirmed my prayer... "Awaken my soul, Lord God Almighty, that I might draw near!"

So, what's the purpose of this blog?

Maybe to simply introduce you to a new-to-you spiritual discipline...

A practice whereby you begin to see Jesus, His heart, and His messages to you that lead you to prayer in new and somewhat different ways...

The thing I am learning over the course of 2020 as I seek to pursue Him more deeply -
1) He is right in front of me...always headed my way!  He is pursuing me!!!!
2) It is through spiritual practices, where the most deepening intimacy is revealed.

Here Him say to you:

Awake, my beloved...

Awake, oh sleeper...and Christ will shine on you!

(from Ephesians 5:14)