Contemplative prayer – Page 8

Category: Contemplative prayer

Speaking in Tongues and Contemplative Prayer

8 October 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

The gift of tongues is one of the spiritual gifts that I appreciate greatly because it is a great aid to prayer. The apostles and the women who followed Jesus, and the mother of Jesus, all spoke in other tongues on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit came upon them in power (Acts 1, 2). This gift is very much available for today’s believers as are all the other spiritual gifts (1Cor 12,14). I find praying in tongues a spiritually edifying exercise and devotional practice.

The Apostle Paul spoke in tongues

The apostle Paul himself had this gift of tongues and he readily and frequently used it in his communion with the Lord. He described the gift of tongues as speaking “not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit” (1Cor 14:2). In Paul’s understanding, while the speaker of tongues does not understand what is being said, mysteriously he “builds himself” (1 Cor 14:4) spiritually in faith, hope and love.

Speaking in tongues seems to facilitate a prayer of surrender, of letting go of having to understand everything that is happening, of having control over all of our life situations. We are saying, “I surrender, Lord. You take over. I will trust You even though I do not understand.” Paul himself used this devotional gift frequently and extensively, and could say to the Corinthian believers who were over-enthusiastic about tongues: “I (Paul) speak in tongues more than you all” (1 Cor 14:18).

Paul uses this gift as a language of praise (Acts 2:11, 10:46) In one instance he mentioned tongues as “giving thanks with your spirit” (1 Cor 14:16) and in another he testified of his experience of tongues as “I will sing with my spirit” (1 Cor 14:15) which means to sing in tongues – a beautiful, melodic expression in tongues of a song of praise to God. I can relate to Paul here for I often fall short of expressing the fullness or depth of gratitude or praise to God because of my lack of vocabulary. Tongues certainly bridges this gap.

The gift of tongues, according to Paul, also came to his aid when he engaged in prayer. “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also” (1 Cor 14:14, 15). The mind is unfruitful, meaning as you listen to yourself praying there is no idea, no conceptual understanding of what you are praying. After praying a while in this manner our mind comes to a place of quiet and a disposition of listening. It is a form of contemplative prayer, you might say. From my experience, when I felt weighed down or was wrestling in confusion or sensed a spiritual attack from the enemy, very often it was praying in tongues that assisted me to reach a place of peace, even without full understanding or resolution of the matter.

If you have the gift of tongues here are a few spiritual exercises you can try:

Read the Psalms until some verses about who God is, and what he has done, strikes you or catches your attention. Stay there with those thoughts about God, and lift up your heart and voice to him in praise in your own language. When you run out of words continue with speaking or singing in tongues with a melody in your heart.
List down some blessings, big or small, that you can thank God for and then praise him in your known language, before moving into thanking God in spirit.
When you feel down for no reason, or confused about something, or feel you are being tempted with disordered desires or thoughts, pray: “Lord, I am struggling about what is happening or what I am feeling or these strong temptations. Please help me as I pray in tongues…..” Pray in spirit and understanding with patience till the peace of Christ prevails. Sometimes like Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, you will need to persevere thrice before peace takes over (Matt 26:44).
Engage in a dialogue with Christ in tongues. Speak in tongues to the Lord for a while. Then wait in quiet as if to listen to his reply. Note the thoughts or desires or emotions or images or verses that comes to your consciousness. If any do rise, do not judge them yet (this is to be done later), but note any down with a pen. Do these two steps over again and for as long as you want to. When the exercise is over, evaluate what you have noted, to see if they are in accord with the teachings of our Lord. See if there are themes in what God is seeking to convey to you or what divine invitations were revealed. Meditate and pray about how you want to respond to these.

The Practice of Solitude

11 September 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

Solitude is defined by the dictionary as the state of being alone. However, in Christian spirituality, we refer to the spiritual practice or discipline of solitude as being alone for the exclusive purpose of fellowship with God. We do not seek to be alone because we are uncomfortable being with people and wish to avoid them. Nor is the purpose “me time” – being alone to do my own thing, to have a time-out, whether it be a Netflix binge, a café visit, shopping, or being absorbed in a hobby or sport. The practice of solitude is about time alone with God, being alone and free from all distraction of people, amusement, things or tasks. “Go to your room and pray in secret”(Matt 6:6) was Jesus instruction on discipleship and prayer. To pray in secret is to pray alone. Room (Gk tamion) is a chamber, an inner room for one to retire, to have privacy. In effect Jesus was encouraging a practice of solitude and prayer.

Why Solitude Frees Us

When we are alone we feel free of the need to meet up to people’s expectations. We do not worry about having to impress people with our eloquence or our breadth of concerns for the world. We are able to be ourselves and express what is in our hearts of hearts: our deepest desires, the darkest secrets, the abysmal failures, our exalted hopes and dreams without fear of a confidentiality leak or condemnation or evaluation. Solitude means being alone with Someone who loves us like no other. It creates a sacred space for God to meet with us, and for us to be changed by our encounter with him.

In this state of aloneness with God there are no scaffoldings: no activities to keep us occupied, no people or smartphone to keep us engaged, no Netflix or YouTube to keep us entertained, no work to keep us numb towards feelings we have unknowingly suppressed. There is no one to get LIKES from, no one to impress so that they FOLLOW us. It is only the solitary soul and God.

When we give God such exclusive attention the meeting with him is bound to impart life, invite change, initiate action. We are available to reflect on and receive communications from God through the many way he messages us in our daily life, through the Bible, dreams, impressions and the stirring of our desires and imagination.

When we are alone with God we find ourselves inevitably facing ourselves. Often this may be uncomfortable as the Lord surfaces for us things in us that needs his cleansing, reforming, and purifying power. Suppressed fears, anger, resentment and other insights about our true selves are able to surface because the blocks that keep us from seeing or dealing with these have been removed by the practice of solitude.

WHAT DO WE DO

We wait in silence before God, resting in the knowledge that he looks on us in love, kindness and gentleness. We breathe slowly and deeply. We still our body and our inner selves and silence all the noises in our mind. We quiet ourselves and present ourselves to him, like saints of old, “Here am I, Lord, waiting before you in solitude and silence”.

We can then turn to a passage in the Bible and read it slowly and meditatively. Or reflect on the day or week that had past. Or tell him what the day was like as a friend to a friend. Or tell him how we feel right there and then.

To help us continually be aware of his presence and our purpose, we could light a candle. We could place a cross before us, or hold a cross, or have the Bible in our hands. We could even have an empty seat or additional mug to remind us we have Jesus with us. “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me”(Rev 2:20).

We could start with an hour, and gradually increase it to longer periods of solitude and prayer, perhaps to a morning and later to a whole day with set times of 45 minutes to one hour of prayer with breaks in between. The day of solitude could then grow to two or three days in a retreat house with the help of a spiritual director to guide our prayer. This progression is not to be forced but the fruit of the grace of God at work in the soul that makes a soul hunger for more solitude, more time with God in prayer.

Fasting and Prayer

2 September 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

One day my daughter suggested that we fast once a week. Fasting was occasional for me – when there was a pressing need. Fasting as a regular spiritual discipline? I was game to try and so was my wife.

We decided that our fast would begin after the dinner of the previous night. Then on the next day, the fast continued through the skipped breakfast and lunch, until we broke fast with dinner.

For me it was not difficult to find the periods of prayer in the morning and afternoon, and a joint prayer with my wife before we broke fast. I have retired. Those who work have to schedule the fast in such a way they have time to pray and reflect.

Some Spiritual Benefits

What I experienced in terms of spiritual benefits are common among those who fast.

I was more alert and deliberate when I prayed.
I saw my trust in God strengthened and my love broadened.
I felt greater self-control through the Spirit’s help.
The Lord broadened my scope of concern beyond myself and family to Singapore and the countries of South East Asia.
I saw answers to my prayers. Once we prayed for two Nigerian children and their nanny who were feared to have been kidnapped. This week we received news that all three were found far away from home kidnapped by a syndicate, and the nanny was an accomplice.
There was added anointing, conviction and confidence when I preached.
A bonus physical benefit was my pants became loose at the waist.

The Spirit Teaches and Guides Us How To Fast

Initially, the Lord taught me to answer this question he once asked a blind man before healing him, “What do you want me to do for you?” I listed what I wanted, and slowly shared with the Lord each situation and my needs and concerns. I took my time to feel, reflect, talk to him and listen and receive assurance that my prayers were heard. I did it on my knees with the written list of prayer needs. Gradually I realized that while fasting, the Lord was also putting on my mind and heart the matters he wanted me to pray about. For Singapore, and for nations that are suffering from the pandemic, like neighbouring countries, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Philippines, and Indonesia. Sometimes I asked him questions, “inquired of the Lord”, to know his mind on what redemptive fruit has come out of the evil of this historic pandemic. Fasting and prayer is not merely about making our requests known to God with earnestness, but also inquiring of the Lord, deepening our communion with God, letting him share his burdens and concerns with us, and humbling and repenting before him.

Different Forms of Fasting

There are of course many different kinds of fast each suited to the lifestyle of the one fasting. It may be different for the mother of three young kids, the working professional, those in National Service or in schools. There are different forms described in the Bible and you can learn more about them by googling the topic.

Pray and launch into the deep by fasting a day and let God teach you more as you move along in faith. Or you could do this gradually – skipping a meal, then two, then three meals. Find some friends to join you in a pact and doing it together gives added strength of purpose.