Prayer Practice ~ Discernment

 

On Sunday, August 28^th, I offered a prayer practice from Ignatius of Loyola, a 14^th Century mystic whose wisdom and writings can help us amid the wilderness of wandering today.  Ignatius wrote on discernment, which is a spiritual practice of aligning what, how, when, and why of our daily life with God. 

 

Pause right now and think about your day ahead: the people you are planning to interact with or places you need to go.  Once you have your “to-do” list, hold each item asking the following question:

 

○ How can I bring the fruits of the Spirit to that meeting?  Or when facing a decision today ask how might you chart a course, prepare the soil of your soul, so that the fruits of the Spirit can grow?  Galatians 5 says the fruits are:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  For example, today, in my interactions with staff at our church how can I share these fruits with them?  Or at Bible Study on Zoom tonight let these gifts flow from me to the others on the Zoom screen?

 

○ How is it with your soul right now?  Often if we are struggling with sharing peace, it is because don’t feel peace.  Or if we refuse to be kind to someone, it is because we don’t practice self-compassion and kindness with ourselves.  How can you experience moments, cultivate discussions, and prayerfully make decisions that bring peace relationally with God? 

 

○ As you look at your “to-do” list how might you act and speak in ways that honor the “we” inside every “me”?  Do your decision, words, and presence promote reconciliation rather than divisiveness? 

 

○ Does your “to do” list and ways you move about your day bring about integrity, earnestness, authenticity within you?  Is there alignment in your head, heart, and soul right now?  Are you facing activities and interactions today that might cause your head and heart and soul to feel in conflict or out-of-whack?

 

○ Is your way of being today and decisions faithful to scripture?  Insert plug here for Bible Study on Tuesday nights at 6:30 and Wednesday mornings at 11 am, plus the reading the Bible in a year starting in October. 

 

Please feel free to adapt these questions, re-write them in your own voice and words, so they work for you.  If the questions confuse you, or if the above questions feel like a square peg in a round hole, you don’t have to answer them.  There is no prize for answering all the questions correctly…because there is no, “correctly.”  The invitation is at the beginning of the day is to reflect on how God is showing up in your life today.  The invitation is to be open to God in whom we live, move, and have our very being.  And may you today know, experience, and encounter peace, joy, love, awe, curiosity, and a grace that makes you whole.  Amen.