Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Meditation: The Prayer of the Heart

Empathic or not, meditation can be a really useful tool to enhance your life in Christ. Unfortunately, meditation in popular culture doesn't often seem to be thought of in context with Christianity.

I suppose the form of meditation we hear about most is transcendental meditation. The goal of transcendental meditation is to empty the mind of thoughts in order to find peace and enlightenment within ourselves.

Prayerful meditation, Prayer of the Heart, or meditating on scripture, are meditations on the word of God. The purpose is to turn our thoughts to God in order to attain peace, wisdom, and understanding through and of Him.

Psalm 49:3 Brenton Greek Septuagint (http://pbible.com/versions/19-psa-049-003.html)
"My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall bring [forth] understanding."

Depending on the translation, "meditate" or "meditation" is mentioned several times in the Psalms. Other translations will use "thoughts" or "mind" in place of meditation.

I like the Prayer of the Heart as it is simple yet so profound. This can bring about significant revelation and shouldn't be undertaken lightly, as the above scripture says it will "bring forth understanding". If you are unsure about your spiritual readiness, please discuss this with a trusted adviser. This practice likely will enhance spiritual gifts such as empathy.

To practice the Prayer of the Heart:
1. Sit comfortably in a quiet place.
2. Calm your breathing.
3. Say a brief opening prayer such as "Christ, I give myself completely to you."
4. Choose a prayer word or short phrase such as "Lord Jesus, have mercy."
5. Repeat your prayer word or phrase continuously and synchronize it with your breath. For example, breath in on "Lord Jesus" and breath out on "have mercy."
6. If any distractions enter your mind, just take note and let them go. Return to your prayer. Be open to anything revelatory that comes your way! (http://prayeroftheheart.com/POHMethod.html)

1 comment:

  1. I really enjoyed this. I my whole life have felt others so deeply and just know things for no reason it just happens and i know things. I really believe in Christ Jesus/Yeshua and the Holy Spirit which binds us and guides as one With God/The creator (although I feel the Father God is an all encompassing conscious force/essence of love and life and all that is was and ever will be and not so much a "person") I am accepting I am an empath and I am thinking a pretty strong one as I can be quite overwhelmed at times iwth many side effects of "emotion". I like to pray and I like to meditate but I am always worried that when I meditate (sometimes after a prayer or a prayer is precursor to it.) I might be messed with by outside forces that I do not seek to interact with. I only want interaction and to fill my entire being with love and compassion and the holy spirit and Christ or his angels. I am so scared though as I am new to all this and dont want to cross the line so to speak of whats safe or ok but want to develop my abilities as well so I can help me help others so to speak safely. I will keep your advice in mind here and incorporate this into my Prayer and Meditation and reflection sessions I have with my self.

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