Practice the Presence

Meditations for Ragamuffins

November 3, 2023

Practice the Presence

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

I Kings 8:23 

A teacher was asked by his student why he was so devoted to the teachings of Saint Francis Assisi. “Because he allowed Jesus Christ to become transparent in his personality,” he replied. Francis brought about a religious revolution in thirteenth-century Europe, and his substantial influence on the followers of Christ reaches all the way to the twenty-first century. Why? Because as the teacher noted, Francis personified the Apostle Paul’s witness: “For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11 NRSV).

While we affirm that both Paul and Francis gave God first claim on their time, attention, love, and interests, we also may shrink back a bit from their example. Both Paul and Francis spent weeks, and often months, in prayer; how are we to follow their example? A mystery of prayer is that we do not have to retreat to our cave for time completely alone and far away from our culture’s countless ways to interrupt our time with God. Centering prayer is a way of conversing with God in the secret places of our heart while the world around us marches on.

We can learn to focus on Christ in the center of our being while we are driving, preparing a meal, sitting in a committee meeting, playing a round of golf or sets of tennis, and even while our team is driving for their winning touchdown. This centering on Jesus does not preclude our being fully present to others, or the other activities in which we are engaged, such as my writing of this meditation on a sunny mountain afternoon.

My Takeaway: Centering on Jesus in the secret place in our heart is an art, and a skill that we can learn. It takes practice and resolve not to give up. It can become our discipline, our habit, and we can learn to dwell in that special place Brother Lawrence, another mighty man of God, described as “the practice of the presence of God.” The first step toward this centering prayer is to begin pausing, several times each day and focusing your awareness of the reality of Christ’s presence in the secret places in your heart.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.