Prayer
Finding the Heart’s True Home
by Richard Foster




Week 13
Part 1— Moving Upward
Chapter 10— Sacramental Prayer

“The true sacrament is holy personality.”  P.T. Forsyth

OPENING PRAYER

1.  Sacramental Prayer is incarnational prayer.
         God, who is Spirit, mediates hi life to us in visible, tangible reality.
         He wants us to discover Him.
         A baby in a manger. Bread and wine. A cloud or a pillar of fire.

2.  Both/And
         Liturgy, sacrament, written prayer
         Intimacy, informality, spontaneous prayer
         Both are inspired by the same Spirit.
         We need the “props” of the church to continue to move inward toward God.
         It’s a safety net

3.  The Bible is full of liturgy
         Alleluia= Praise God in the Psalms
         Jesus participated in the synagogue: Shema, hymns, benedictions, chants
         1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy3:16b; Ephesians 5:19-20

4.  Liturgical Prayer brings freedom
         a.  Gives us a language to articulate the heart
                  Book of Common Prayer (p. 107)
         b.  Unites us with the communion of the saints—a  common way of talking to God
         c.  Keeps us from the temptation to be spectacular and entertaining
         d.  Helps us resist the temptation of private religion—only our concerns, skipping                       parts we don’t like
         e.  Keeps us from the familiarity that breeds contempt—making God in our own                       image

5.  Understandable Concerns
         a.  It’s all rote, going through the motions
                  Actually an asset—gives me the freedom to think about content, not how to                     word things
         b.  It’s archaic—old-fashioned
                  Conserves the best of Christian devotion—doesn’t let us descend into modern                  and off-base analogies (Feed my sheep/experiment on rats)
         c.  Vain repetition
                  In trying to make things beautiful and meaningful, we can “heap up empty                      phrases” and forget about why we’re there.  Liturgy keeps us focused.
         d.  Make Jesus the prisoner of the tabernacle.
                  Means of Grace.

6.  Psalms—a new song in an ancient way
         Music is powerful—combines reason and imagination, skill and art
         The one who sings prays twice.
         Sela—a meditative interlude during a psalm

7.  Holy Communion—the most complete prayer
         Examination, repentance, petition, forgiveness, contemplation, thanksgiving,                     celebration
         All the senses are employed
         Symbols, images, mysteries—Christ is truly present among us.
         Visible means of an invisible grace
         Symbols of the Passion keep us looking at the heart of the gospel: Sacrifice,
                  Jesus’ broken body, His blood poured out, receiving His forgiveness
         Worthiness is not a prerequisite—God receives us just as we are.

8.  Sacrament of the Word
         Lord’s Supper is the gospel through the eyegate
         The Word is the gospel through the eargate
         Jesus, the Word of God, Logos 
         Scripture, the written Word
         Speaking the Word through humans under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
         Occurs many places, including a designated worship service
         Preaching—Divine Unction
         Holy listening by preacher and congregation
         Always practicing listening for the Divine Whisperer

9.  Body Prayer
         We don’t have bodies—we ARE bodies
         We don’t have spirits—we ARE spirits
         We don’t have a soul—we ARE a soul
         Forms of Body Prayer    
                  Hands and arms raised
                  Bowed down
                  Kneeling
                  Sacred Dancing
                  Laying on of hands
                  Prostrate

10.  Celtic Daily Prayer
         http://www.northumbriacommunity.org

Closing Prayer
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed by thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
And the glory, forever.  –Amen.



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http://christian-transformationblog.blogspot.com 

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