CENTERING PRAYER

Spiritual Practices

Entering into prayer in silence is a way to practice attending and listening to God without interruption or distraction. The desire is to free yourself from the distractions of noise so you can be totally present to God; placing yourself in the presence of God without the distraction of words, music, reading, or anything else audible. Simply come before God in quietness and allow God’s presence to flow over you.

PROCESS

1) Find a place that is quiet and where you will not be interrupted.

2) Set a desired amount of time to spend in silence, for the beginner 10 minutes is a reasonable place to start. You may want to set a timer so that you are not tempted to stare at the clock for the entire time. (You can use the above timer for this)

3) Clear your mind of thoughts and simply be silent before God. When thoughts come into your mind do not focus on them, allow them to pass by and return to silence.

4) After your allotted time has passed, reflect on the experience of what it was like to simply be in the intentional presence of God in silence.

5) You may want to do this several times a day if the time increments you chose are short. Others may choose to go on solitude retreats where a day or more is spent in silence.