Friday, March 8: A Prayer of Surrender

Begin your prayer time by lighting a candle or by ringing the opening bell in the right hand column at the website here. Allow the ringing of the bell to draw you into sacred space with God. Take a few deep breaths, breathing in God's love and presence, breathing out any distractions, plans or worries.

Lord, Jesus Christ, teach me to pray.

Prepare yourself for the reading of the scripture by quieting yourself and asking God to speak to you in this passage. Read the passage slowly with both the mind and the heart.

A Reading from the book of Jeremiah [11:4-5]

Listen to my voice and do all that I command you.  So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.  Then I answered,  “So be it, Lord.”  

“So be it, Lord.”  We say these words, though in different form, whenever we declare an “amen”.   Generally, the word “amen” is taken to mean “so be it” or “I agree”.  Amen is a form of acquiescence or surrender to God.  In the scripture today we see Jeremiah the prophet saying “yes” to God’s will for himself and for the people of Israel. 

I am reminded of the Lord’s Prayer that we pray together every Sunday.  We say to God “thy will be done”.  What do we mean by that?  If I think about it for a moment, I would say that I usually take it to mean, “I will accept whatever ways you have chosen for things to come about in the world.”  But, what I fail to say when praying that prayer is “your will be done, not only in the world, but in me”.  This is a big shift in thinking.  I am no longer simply saying, “Ok, God, you take care of all of the things that are going on around me”.  I am now saying, “Do whatever you want to do inside me.  I completely give myself to you.”  We have returned again to a prayer of surrender.  

This simple line “So be it, Lord” lends itself perfectly to a prayer practice called the Breath Prayer.  It is very simply done and is a prayer that allows us to move into a place of communion because we can use the prayer to let go of our busy minds.  The prayer is centered in the rhythm of your breath and always has two parts.  One part is a name for God and one part is something that we want to say to God.  One is said with the in breath and the other is said with the out breath. So it would be:

So be it  (in breath)
Lord.  (out breath)  

The prayer is repeated like a chant or a mantra for several minutes and the prayer will gently lead you into a place of rest with God.  

As you move into the prayer, begin by paying attention to your breath.  Don’t try to change anything.  Just observe how your breath is moving in and out.  Then, add in the words on the in breath and then the out breath.  Pray the words with the breath as long as you would like, but for at least 3 minutes.  Then, simply be with God.

How did it feel to say “yes” to God?  Did you feel any letting go inside of you?  Did you notice anything about the word “Lord”?  What does it mean to you?  Did you find any discomfort in this form of prayer?  

Record your thoughts in your prayer journal.  

Loving God, May each breath that I breathe today draw me closer to You. Amen.