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
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.
You can share our lessons with others who can’t be
here in person by referring them to
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