A Suggestion for Uniting Prayer and Action — Renouncing the Powers
One of the temptations for us as social activists is to be so concerned with doing that we neglect the inner stillness out of which Christian social action best flows. Advent or Lent (and other seasons of the Church Year) offer a splendid opportunity to pay attention to the Source of our being and doing.
In this inner stillness our being is quieted, able to be attentive to God’s presence within ourselves, within others, and in history. Here we can become purged of our bowing down before the idols we do not wish to serve: the idols of control, of arrogance, of frenetic doing, of taking on too much.
In this inner place of peace we can better see things as they are, and recognize the choices before us. We can hear the invitation to renounce again the vicious principalities and powers around us, and to say a quiet ‘no’ to their attempts to seduce our own spirits.
In this inner stillness we may surrender to God the hidden corners of our wilfulness and other secret motives.
How do we cultivate this inner stillness? There can be many ways.
One that I have found helpful is this breath prayer:
1. First offer a silent prayer that in this prayer exercise you may be fully present to God (without this intentionality the act of prayer may be a hollow shell).
2. Slowly take in a full breath; then hold the breath for several seconds before slowly exhaling. After exhaling, pause. Then repeat the process over and over again.
3. As you breathe in, consciously breathe into yourself that which is of God; and as you exhale, breathe out of yourself that which is not of God. Let God guide you into any specific content for this prayer; as breathing in the fruits of the Spirit, or breathing out anxiety or the desire to control, etc. Continue for 5-10 minutes.
4. Then imagine a specific, problematic situation you face (like a social issue, a challenging meeting, a personal temptation, or an interpersonal relationship). Bring this situation to mind, and as you do so follow the directions in number 3 above, for another 5-10 minutes, breathing into that situation that which is of God and breathing out that not of God. Let them rest in God’s hands.
5. Close your prayer time with your own prayer of thanksgiving and intercession, as you may be led.
6. Finally, you might find it helpful to record in a journal something of the inner movement you experience in this prayer time.
May your experience of inner stillness be a fertile seedbed for your life in the world.
George writes: ‘MFSA (Methodist Federation for Social Action) has used this prayer in preparation for our social witness, such as at meetings of the General Board of Pensions and in preparation for our vigil at the Israeli Embassy. We have found it genuinely helpful.’
Photo: church window, Paris — Ana Gobledale