Abiding

MEDIATION 

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. . . Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

(John 14:15–17, 19b-20)

The Holy Spirit is our vital connection to Jesus and the Father. The Helper has been sent to cultivate our life in the soil of sacred love that has always existed between the Father and the Son. As the Spirit roots our life within that love, we reciprocate that love and bear the beautiful fruit that feeds our hungry souls and blesses our hungry world. It is in this place of loving fruitfulness that Jesus says our joy "will be full," (John 15:11). Obedience to Jesus springs from our love of Jesus and his commands, which is cultivated by the Spirit and the Spirit's breathed-out word: holy scripture.

But this is also true: that connection that the Spirit brings about can be "quenched," suppressing that powerful force of divine love within our lives (1 Thess. 5:19) and robbing ourselves of the vital nutrient that we creatures need to be fruitful (Gal. 5:16). Our resistance to the Spirit is constant. It is a battle between our "flesh" (human nature operating out of its own fallen power) and the Spirit (human nature transformed by God's power). How can we continually reorient ourselves to the presence and power of the Spirit? The mothers and fathers of our faith have practiced and passed down to us a method of prayer called lectio divina (sacred reading) that facilitates this orientation.

Every day in the Daily Prayer Project, there is a portion of the liturgy called Abiding. If you've prayed using the DPP for a while, you'll recognize this line: "Read. Meditate. Pray. Contemplate." These are the four stages of lectio divina. Let's explore them now.

EXPLORATION

Our practice of prayer and encounters with scripture can be mindless, rote, and hurried. The goal of abiding is to slow ourselves down and dwell with the Spirit, leading us--through his breathed-out word--to the Father and the Son. This method can be practiced as a group or individually. Choose a passage of scripture from the DPP Lectionary for that day and journey along this ancient path.

Prelude: Take some time to breathe in and out. Call to mind the presence of the Spirit, the breath and wind of God. As you inhale, pray: "Spirit of God, here with me now" and as you exhale: "Help me to be here with you." Take note of one aspect of your breath (nostrils, lips, lungs, etc.) and pay attention to your whole body. Be still before the Lord. Prepare to listen.

I. Read (put the scripture on your tongue). 

A. As you first encounter scripture, simply read or listen to the passage. 

B. Study the scripture with the time and resources available to you.

C. Ponder this question: "What do these words say?"

II. Meditate (chew on scripture). 

A. As you journey upwards, seek the higher meanings of the passage.

B. Ponder this question: "What are the higher realities that the Spirit is drawing out right now? What is the essence of these words"?

III. Pray (ask for the ability to taste)

A. As you turn your attention to the Giver of the word, ask the Spirit to purify your heart so that you might see God and taste his goodness (Matt. 5:8).

B. Ask the Lord: "Will you show me myself through this passage? Will you show me yourself through this passage? I long for you; I long behold you. Purify me and help me to taste your goodness."

IV. Contemplate (taste the goodness of God)

A. In the heights of prayer, we experience the reality that Jesus talked about: "You will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." To contemplate is to taste the glory, love, and goodness of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is to commune with heaven while on earth. It is neither formulaic nor does it happen in every hour of prayer. It is a gift of the Spirit. This is what we seek in prayer: "You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, LORD, do I seek." (Ps. 27:8)

Postlude: Thank God for this time and cultivate a posture of gratitude. Ponder the question: "How has what I've experienced today going to change the way I live in the next hours?" As you inhale, pray: "Spirit of God, going with me now" and as you exhale: "Cultivate your fruit in my life." 

READ. PRAY. MEDITATE. CONTEMPLATE. SEEK GOD’S FACE.