Experiments in Christian Spirituality

Using our bodies in our worship and prayer helps us to enter into that worship and prayer all the more deeply. You may be familiar with Christians of various traditions making the sign of the cross on themselves by touching their forehead then their chest then their shoulders. There's another form of making the sign of the cross that involves making three little crosses on yourself in three different places. Have you come across it? In more catholic Anglican churches, when the priest prepares to read the Gospel passage in the Holy Communion service, several of the worshippers might use their thumb to mark a tiny cross shape on their forehead, then their lips, then their chest before they hear the passage read out to them. This gesture-prayer is a way of praying, "May Christ be in my thinking and in my speaking and in my heart and motives." It's a beautiful little prayer than encompasses all of life. In fact, this little gesture prayer needn't only be used i...

Have you ever experimented with keeping a journal? A spiritual journal is a journal that helps you focus on your personal relationship with God. There are no rules when it comes to keeping one. You can just enjoy experimenting with what helps you. There are a couple of things that a spiritual journal isn't . Some Christians have notebooks for notes they make from Bible studies and sermons. That can be another thing to experiment with if you feel it might be helpful to you. A spiritual journal is a bit different though. It's not so much for studying and learning as it is for helping you notice what's going on in your own life and helping you notice what God's doing in your life. A spiritual journal isn't a diary either. It's not somewhere you have to write down an account of each day (unless you want to!) or an account 'what happened' each prayer time. It's not something you have to write in each day. There's no pressure with it at all. ...

Many Anglicans believe that Jesus is present in a special way in the Holy Communion bread and wine that have been prayed over by a priest (the "Blessed Sacrament"). For centuries there's been a tradition of keeping some Blessed Sacrament bread aside, particularly so that it can be taken to those who are ill or house-bound. In this context it is called "Reserved Sacrament" because some has been kept aside after a Holy Communion service. Reserved Sacrament is considered so special that it needs to be kept somewhere secure. It's also felt that it needs to be kept somewhere fittingly special. For that reason it's usually locked inside a little cupboard in the church wall called an aumbry. (Aumbry simply means 'closet' or 'chest'.) In some buildings the aumbry sticks out from the wall, and in others it fits into an alcove within the wall. Sometimes in Church of England church buildings it;s covered by a tiny curtain. Just like the roy...

When we read about the lives of the saints and other exemplary Christians, we realise that they were the extraordinary people they were because of their deep friendship with Jesus. They frequently spent quality time with Jesus. They stayed close to Jesus throughout the day. They weren't in this relationship just for what they could get out of it. They had a two way genuine friendship with Jesus. Their prayer lives included both talking and listening. They talked to God about what was on their heart and they listened to what was on God's heart. There are lots of ways of praying and you might say there are different depths of prayer. Some of the most familiar forms of prayer are praying set words, singing songs to God, thanking God, praying for others (intercession) and praying for ourselves (petition). There are deeper ways of praying too. There is listening prayer where you sit in silence listening to what God might be saying to you. There is meditation where you me...

We can try to fit God around ourselves, or we can live in a way that teaches us to fit ourselves around God. For years people thought that the sun revolved around the earth, but actually the sun is the centre of our universe. The earth revolves around the sun, not the other way round. What would our days look like if we structured them around God? One of the things that has greatly helped many Christians over the centuries to revolve around God is fixed time prayer. Let's look at what fixed time prayer is... Many Christians 'frame' their day with prayer: they pray in some way first thing, and before meals, and some time before bed. One step deeper than that, many Christians have 'semi-fixed' times of prayer. As well as praying informally throughout the day, they might have a slightly more formal prayer time 'when they wake up' or 'after breakfast' or 'on their lunch break' or 'when they get home from work' or 'before ...

How many kneeling figures have you seen over recent weeks? On Christmas cards or in crib scenes you may have seen kneeling angels, kneeling shepherds, kneeling wise men, maybe even Mary kneeling. Kneeling is an outward expression of humility and awe and love. Have you ever experimented with kneeling in prayer? Some Christians find it helps them concentrate or that it helps them express the humility and awe and love in their heart. Linked to kneeling is a form of prayer called 'adoration'. You don't have to be kneeling to engage in adoration. It's more about your heart adoring God. It's just that some people find kneeling helps with this kind of prayer. 'Adoration' is a way of praying in which you don't really do anything or even say anything to God. You simply kneel or sit in God's presence in silent worship. It's a profound form of prayer for when words are no longer deep enough for what you're trying to express. Perhaps ...

How often do you pause to think about what Heaven will be like? Who do you think will be there? What do you think it will feel like? What do you think people will be doing? You might like to set aside some time today just to sit and contemplate the few Bible verses below. You might also like to take this opportunity to experiment with a contemplative form of praying with Scripture where you use your imagination to really put yourself in the scene and experience it for yourself. To do this, read the passage a few times first, then close your eyes and ask God to help guide your imagination as you experience yourself in the scene. Give yourself a good 10 mins or so to do this. Who do you see and hear around you? What's the atmosphere like? How do you find yourself feeling as you stand or kneel among thousands of worshippers? How do you find yourself feeling as you stand before God's throne? You might find after this kind of prayer that God showed you something new or d...

Take a close look at this icon of Jesus. It's a famous icon called Christ Pantocrator (Christ Ruler of All). It's one of the earliest images of Jesus and one of the oldest existing icons. Have you noticed that the two sides of Jesus' face are slightly different? One side depicts his justice, and the other softer side depicts his compassion and mercy. Each of us when we die will come face to face with Jesus. Each of us will be judged by him and will have to give an account of our actions and choices. "...we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.' So then, each of us will be accountable to God." Romans 14: 10-12 Imagine Jesus replaying your life to you. How will you feel watching it back over with Jesus? What do you think he will point out, or comment on, or question? What do you think Jesus in his justice might say ...

How do you stay spiritually alert? There are several Bible passages in which we're forewarned that Jesus' return will take us by surprise. We're urged to therefore live in 'spiritual alertness'. Here is just one of those passages: "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Luke 12:35-40) Being spiritual...

How do you react to Mary? Today is one of the days in the year on which the Church celebrates Mary the Mother of our Lord. 8th December is the date on which Roman Catholics celebrate the Immaculate Conception (the belief that Mary was conceived without sin). Anglicans who don't believe that Mary was conceived without sin commemorate 'the Conception of Mary' or 'the Birth of Mary' today. For some Christians, December is one of the few times of the year when they think about Mary. Other Christians think about Mary throughout the year. There's a lot more to Mary and her relationship with Jesus than the appearance of Gabriel to Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and her giving birth to our Lord. Christians admire Mary for her 'yes' to God and for her trust in God. At times she seemed to wonder what was going on and wondered if her son was mad but she stuck by him. It's clear that by the end of Jesus' ministry, Mary was one of the fellowship of be...

Chances are that on a typical day you drink at least four cups of tea or coffee. What are you doing while you're drinking them? In our fast paced multi-tasking lives, it's important that we find moments in our day to quieten down, slow down and be more attentive to the present moment. This might commonly be called 'mindfulness'. In Christianity we might call it 'practising the presence of God', or more accurately 'becoming more attentive to the presence of God'. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) If you can spare ten minutes, how about trying having one of your cups of coffee / tea / hot chocolate in silence. You might be able to do this early in the morning or on your lunch break or later in the day. This little challenge isn't just about silence but also about not doing anything else while you enjoy your drink. No phone. No newspaper. No Sudoku. No reading the Bible even. Simply sitting with your mug and with...

Prayer is about real encounter with the living God, not about nice ambience and warm fuzzy experience, but we're human and our surroundings can help (or hinder us) with prayer.  'Hygge' has been very popular the last few years, and there are ways that I feel some of the principles and ways of hygge can help our spiritual lives. Pronounced 'hoo-ga', the Danish concept is somehow about cosiness, slowing down, enjoying the simple things in life, and enjoying the company of those we love.  How often do we set aside quality time to enjoy God's company? How many of us have a set meeting place where we look forward to encountering God regularly? A lot of Christians find it helpful to have a certain prayer corner or a certain chair or spot that they pray in. Over the winter you might like to have fun creating a warm inviting prayer spot in a hygge style. Candles are part of the hygge aesthetic and they also help many Christians focus during their pr...

Did you know that St Francis of Assisi, who lived in the 13th Century, is credited with 'inventing' the nativity set? He found a trip to Bethlehem so powerful that he wanted to create a way of really entering into the story of Jesus' birth himself. He set up an empty manger in a cave in Italy and stationed a live ox and donkey next to it. He wanted to use these visual aids and this life size experience to appreciate more fully the poverty and simplicity into which Jesus was born. This visual exercise had an extremely powerful affect on Francis, and he invited the local villagers to experience it for themselves. They also found it very powerful and the spiritual exercise caught on and spread throughout Europe. The spiritual exercise Francis of Assisi was engaging in here is very similar to a way of praying with the Bible called "Gospel Contemplation". In Gospel Contemplation we take a story from one of the Gospels but rather than creating the scene phy...