Spiritual Direction, Supervision, and Training for Spiritual Directors
Psalm 43 is a cry for God’s refuge in times of sorrow, turmoil, and disappointment. This new guided prayer over at Soul Space is perfect for facing the uncertainty of Election Day and whatever happens in the days ahead. Listen and find solid ground in our only true source of hope, certainty, and joy.
Find me on Instagram @ravishedbylight
My friends and I at Soul Space have released a new guided prayer! This recording invites you to reflect on Psalm 1 and the image of a tree nourished by God’s word, planted by streams of water, and bearing fruit in season.
In these unsettling days of political, social, and economic unrest, we could all use a reminder of the true sources of our peace, strength, and rest. Listen when you feel in need of restoration or when you simply want to soak in God’s presence. (I’ve heard that these meditations make a great falling asleep aid!) May you listen and be refreshed.
-Carrie
Find me on Instagram at @ravishedbylight
I’m so excited to announce my friends and fellow spiritual directors Janine Rohrer and David Buchs have launched our new website, Soul Space. At Soul Space, we create room for your soul to breathe. Our vision is to make space for busy people to find rest, nourishment, and inspiration for their souls. We offer guided meditations, spiritual direction, and retreats.
To go with the new website, we’ve posted a new guided meditation, set to David’s ambient music. Based on Psalm 25, it leads the listener to prayerfully reflect on trust, hope, and repentance and on God’s guidance, compassion, and love.
Listen to it now and let your soul find rest from a busy day! We’ll be releasing a new recording next week, too!
You can also find archived reflections on our Soul Space page at Soundcloud.
Find me on Instagram @ravishedbylight.
This prayer is based on the story of the Roman officer who asked Jesus to heal his servant. It’s a meditation on the authority given to each of us by God and how we are invited to wield it on his behalf. It also asks us to consider how God has stretched our faith in the past and how he might be doing so in the present. The prayer time begins with a breathing exercise called box breathing, which can be used by someone who is in a state of stress or agitation to attain focus and calm. If you are planning to lead this prayer, leave plenty of space for reflection in between the questions.
Find a comfortable position and close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose slowly, counting to four as you inhale. Hold for four counts, then breathe out for four counts. Repeat: inhale, 2-3-4, hold, 2-3-4, release 2-3-4. Inhale, 2-3-4, hold, 2-3-4, release, 2-3-4.
How do you come to prayer today? What is the state of your mind? Your body? Your heart? What hopes and fears, worries and joys do you bring to Jesus today?
For today’s prayer time, I will guide you through an imaginative prayer on Matthew 8:5-13. This is the story of a Roman officer who asked Jesus to heal his servant from a terrible illness.
As you listen to the story, pay notice what most catches your attention and sparks your imagination.
Jesus, I pray that you would guide this time of contemplation and prayer. Enliven our senses and our imaginations to perceive you. Enfold us with your love.
Matthew 8:5-13
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer[b] came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant[c] lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
What are your immediate responses to this passage? What stands out to you? With whom do you most identify? With the officer? With the servant? Or with Jesus? At what point of the story did your strongest emotions emerge?
I will read the passage again. This time, use your imagination to place yourself in the scene. You may imagine yourself as someone in the story or perhaps as an observer or an object. Use your senses and emotions to fill in the story – see the light glinting off the solder’s armor and hear Jesus’ voice as he expresses compassion or surprise. Smell the dust in the air and feel the heat of the sun on your skin. Or perhaps feel the pain and fear of the sick servant.
The story in your imagination does not need to unfold in the same way as the passage, nor does it need to stop when the passage does. Allow God to guide your imagination as he will.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer[b] came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant[c] lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
How did the story unfold for you? What did you notice? What did you feel in your emotions or in your body?
What did you sense the Lord communicating to you through your imagination? What would you like to say to him in return?
Two themes that come up in this story are authority and faith. Like the Roman soldier, there are places in your life where you are under authority and places where you have authority.
First and foremost, you are under the authority of God. What does that mean to you? How do you feel about being under God’s authority? Are there any places you are trying to retain authority over your own life? What would it look like to surrender those areas to God?
You also have God-given authority through Jesus and the Holy Spirit: authority to pray and work for God’s purposes, to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and help, and to help others experience the power and love of God. How do you feel about having this kind of authority? Are there any kinds of authority that God seems to have especially gifted you with – for example, the authority to heal or teach or pray, to free people from the influence of evil spirits, to prophesy, or to help others know Jesus?
Is there any kind of spiritual authority you would like to ask for? If you feel comfortable doing so, ask Jesus for it now.
In the human realm, you may also have authority: for example, over your family our household, or over people who work for you. You may have authority that comes from your job title, your education, or your experience. Based on your ethnicity and gender or other characteristics, you may have or lack certain kinds of cultural or social authority.
What kinds of authority to do you have? In other words, in what areas of life do you have the power to make something happen? In this past week, how have you used your authority?
What kinds of authority might you lack?
Are there any ways that God is inviting you to change how you wield your power? How might you be called to use or expand your authority? What kinds of power might you be invited to give up?
Turning to the question of faith, what are some ways you have exercised faith in the past? How did it feel to have your faith stretched? What was the result?
Where is your faith being challenged right now? Where in your life is God saying, “Go,” “Come,” or “Do this?” How would you like God to meet you in this challenge of faith?
In the week to come, what is one way you can exercise your faith? And what is one way you can use your authority, either in the human or spiritual realm, on behalf of God and God’s purposes?
Move now to a time of silence. For a moment, sit face to face with Jesus. Imagine his loving, accepting gaze on you. Take in the expression of his face, the posture of his body. Feel his heart. What would you like to take away from your time with him?
Jesus, I thank you that you have all authority in heaven and on earth. I thank you that you always use your power to help, heal, and save, never to harm. Help us to step into the authority you have given us, whether spiritual or in the human realm, so that we may participate in your Kingdom mission. And help us to dismantle systems of false authority that lead to oppression and suffering. Help us to use our power as Jesus did, on behalf of others.
Thank you for joining this time of prayer. As you go from here, may the Holy Spirit bring you the imagination, authority, and faith to see what God is doing and join in. Amen.
Photo credit: pixabay
Find me on Instagram: @ravishedbylight
Find guided contemplative prayers set to original ambient music at soulspace.center.
Start by finding a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Take deep, slow, even breaths. Use your breaths to ground yourself in the present moment. Take this opportunity to be kind to yourself. Wrap your arms around yourself and give yourself a hug. This is something you can do when you feel stressed or anxious – it actually releases chemicals in your brain that will help you feel more relaxed and cared for. As you hug yourself – make sure it’s a good squeeze! – imagine God smiling down on you with compassion and love.
In our prayer time, you will have an opportunity to consider your weaknesses – your character flaws, the places where you lack power, strength, wealth, or the ability to succeed as you might wish – in the light of God’s love and grace. You will have the chance to ask how God sees your weaknesses . . . and how he might be using them for his Kingdom.
1 Corinthians 1: 18, 24-28 says that:
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!
24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,[f] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[g] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,[h] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.
In this passage, the Apostle Paul calls our attention to the difference between what God considers valuable and what the world considers valuable. Paul invites us to reflect on God’s foolishness in choosing Jesus as the instrument of our salvation. Jesus came in a frail, human body that was easily broken and killed, yet God transformed that weakness into a resurrection power that changed the world. This passage also invites us to reflect on our own weaknesses and how God might use those more powerfully than our strengths.
Jesus, I pray you will send your Holy Spirit to guide this time. As we reflect prayerfully on our weaknesses, I ask that you would keep away any shame or discouragement. Help us to look with compassion on ourselves, trusting that you work in and through all things, even those things we may struggle with in ourselves.
I will read the passage again. As you listen, ask the Lord to guide your thoughts and emotions.
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!
24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,[f] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy[g] when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world,[h] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.
Ask God to bring to your mind something about yourself that you consider a weakness. It might be related to your body, mind, emotions. Or perhaps it has to do with a relationship or a desire or personality trait that seems to get in your way. If more than one weakness or flaw comes to mind, ask the Lord to help you focus on only what he would like to talk to you about today.
When you’ve settled on a particular weakness, sit with it for a moment. What effect has this particular weakness has had on your life or the life of those around you? What memories and emotions come to your mind regarding this weakness?
How do you believe it has held you back? How do you believe things might be different if you didn’t have this weakness?
Now, begin to look at your weakness in the light of God’s love for you as his child. Psalm 139 says that God knew you before you were born, that he knit you together in your mother’s womb.
Imagine that you are there, with God, watching yourself being formed. Imagine your heart beginning to beat, your organs beginning to form, your fingers and toes beginning to move. Picture God bending down to breathe life into your lungs.
What does God see and know about you, as he is there with you before your birth? What do you see and know about yourself, as you bear witness with God to your creation?
Enter into conversation with God. What does he say about who you are now? What does he say about your weakness? What would you like to say back to God? Are there any questions you would like to ask him? How does he answer you?
As you look back on your life, can you see any ways that God has your weakness or used it for good? For example, a person with a quick temper may turn their anger and passion towards working for justice. Or a person too shy to pray out loud may turn out to be a powerful intercessor in the privacy of their own home. In your life, how has God what seems like a flaw into a strength?
How might your weakness reveal more about the work God has designed you to do? How might God be inviting you to act on his behalf in the world? Imagine yourself giving your weakness to God and asking him to use it as he sees fit. How does it feel to do this? How does God respond?
Turn your attention to the week ahead. Are there any specific ways God is inviting you to let him use your weakness to bring a positive change in someone’s life? If you feel led to do so, commit to taking those actions.
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
Jesus, thank you that in you, we can see the weakness and foolishness of God in all its beauty and power. Thank you that in you, no part of us is despised or wasted, but can all be used for your glory and for the healing of the world.
As you go from this time of prayer, may you be blessed knowing that God has created and chosen you for a purpose. May Jesus go with you and the Holy Spirit empower you as you live out that purpose in the week ahead. Amen.
Photo credit: Photo by Frank Cone from Pexels
Find me on Instagram @ravishedbylight.
Psalm 20
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.
Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven
and rescue him by his great power.
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse,
but we will rise up and stand firm.
Give victory to our king, O Lord!
Answer our cry for help.
Today, our contemplative prayer will be a Lectio Divina, or a “Divine Reading.” It’s an ancient practice for meditating on a passage of Scripture by reading it several times, each time with a slightly different focus. It has five steps: Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation, and Action.
Begin by finding a comfortable position and closing your eyes. Rest your hands on your lap, palms upward and open in a gesture of openness and receiving. Begin to take slow, deep breaths.
“God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” Imagine yourself being caught in a shower of light, as though you are immersed in a sunbeam. Feel the light and warmth pouring over you, starting at the top of your head and moving downward, through your chest and arms, filling your hands, then moving downward over your legs and feet. Imagine God filling you with his light and his love.
Rest. Breathe. Feel God’s total acceptance and love.
Holy Spirit, come. I ask you to guide our time of prayer. I pray that your Living Word would speak to us and transform us into the likeness of Christ. I pray that each person here would experience the joy and peace of God’s presence.
Let’s begin the Lectio.
God, thank you for guiding this time of prayer. I pray that you would continue the transforming work you have begun within us and through us. Continue growing us in love for your Word, openness to the Holy Spirit, and in the likeness of your Son, Jesus.
As you go from here, may you love as Jesus loved, without reservation, prejudice, or fear. May you be free to live the life God has placed in you.
Amen.
The steps for Lectio Divina are adapted from: https://www.thereligionteacher.com/lectio-divina-steps/
Photo Credit: Photo by Luis Quintero from Pexels
Find me on Instagram @ravishedbylight.
God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
This was the contemplative prayer for today’s service at Vineyard One NYC. The prayer alludes to, though does not explicitly mention, the events of these past weeks: the murder of George Floyd – and countless other black men and women – the #BlackLivesMatter protests that have spread throughout the U.S. and beyond, the police violence against largely peaceful protestors, and the covid-19 epidemic, which disproportionately affects black and Hispanic communities. (More direct teaching and prayer about these events happened at other times in the service.) It invites repentance, prayers for unity, and action towards becoming a person who bears Jesus’ light into the world.
If you choose to lead this prayer, leave ample time for everyone to reflect and to listen to God’s voice.
Breath Prayer on 1 John 1:5-7
Breath prayer is a contemplative practice in which we breathe slowly and deeply, gradually synchronizing our breathing to short prayers or phrases that we pray aloud or quietly in our head. As we breathe, we are praying with our body, allowing God’s presence to take root in not only our minds and our hearts, but our physical being as well.
As we begin our time, I pray that we would be surrounded by God’s presence, love, and peace. In these turbulent days of violence, racism, illness, and uncertainty, may Jesus give us courage and to do his will, trust in his plans, and hope for the future.
I invite you to find a comfortable position wherever you are. Close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply and slowly. Pay attention to the rhythm of your breath. You may want to put your hands on your chest or stomach so you can feel your body rise and fall as you inhale and exhale. Breathe out any tension you may be feeling in your body. Relax your face, your neck, your shoulders, your arms and hands. Relax your legs and feet. Continue to breathe slowly and deliberately.
What emotions are you feeling right now?
God loves you without reservation, right now, exactly as you are. Surrender yourself to his love.
Today, the phrases from our breath prayer will come from 1 John 1:5-7. As you listen to the verses, keep up your slow, deep breathing. Allow God’s Word to sink in and bring quiet your spirit.
1 John 1:5-7
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
I will read the verse again:
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
For our breath prayer today, we will start with three phrases based on the Scripture. Pray these phrases silently in rhythm with your breathing.
God, you are light.
Cleanse us from sin.
Make us one.
God, you are light.
Cleanse us from sin.
Make us one.
For the next few minutes, keep repeating these phrases as you breathe.
God, you are light.
Cleanse us from sin.
Make us one.
As you pray, you may find that one of these phrases seems to resonate with you more than the others. Let the other phrases fall away and focus on the one that God seems to be drawing you towards. So you may choose to pray, God you are light.
Or, Cleanse us from sin.
Or, Make us one.
Continue with your chosen phrase, allowing God to draw you deeper into your prayer. If God seems to have you alternate between phrases, that’s perfectly fine. Follow his lead.
Now, ask the Lord if there are other words that he is inviting you to pray. Is there anything he is bringing to your mind? Follow God’s leading and begin to pray your new words or phrase. Or, if you are still drawn to the words you are already praying, continue as you were. Trust the Lord to guide this process.
Take a few more moments with your breath prayer.
Now, move to a time of silence. Imagine you are face to face with Jesus. You may picture him in as much or as little detail as you wish. What emotions are you experiencing as you sit in his presence?
Let Jesus speak to you about his intentions for this prayer time. What is he saying to you with his words? What is he saying to you without words?
Is there anything you would like to say to him?
As you spend time with the Lord, how do you sense him bringing his light to your circumstances? How do you sense him inviting you to bring his light to others? What kind of person is he calling you to be during this season?
If you feel led to do so, tell Jesus your intentions to be this person. What is one concrete action you can take this week to become someone who bears Jesus’ light?
Lord, thank you for this time of prayer. You are the source of our every breath. Help us to honor you with our words, thoughts, and actions. With the power of your Spirit, help us to illuminate the darkness in our world.
As you go from here, may you live in the light of Jesus’ love, healing, redemption, reconciliation, and peace. Amen.
Copyright by Carrie Myers, 2020.
Find me on Instagram at @RavishedByLight.
Photo credits: Clear Glass Sphere, Pixabay; Protestors Holding Signs, Photo by Kelly Lacy from Pexels
My friends and I at Soul Space have a new guided contemplation up just in time for Pentecost Sunday!
May you have a life-giving encounter with Jesus and the Holy Spirit as you listen to the Scripture (Acts 2:1-21) and use your imagination to enter into a time of reflection and prayer.
Created by Soul Space: Janine Rohrer (writing), Carrie Myers (narration), David Buchs (Original music and sound mixing)
P.S. I’ve been creating guided contemplative prayers every week for our virtual Sunday services at Vineyard One NYC. For those of you who are spiritual directors or prayer leaders, I’m going to start posting those scripts weekly, so stay tuned!
(If I can figure out how, I’ll post the recordings, too, but so far Audacity and I are not friends. Recording the Pentecost script required me to sit in my living room very late at night so noises were at a minimum, doors and windows closed, fan off, with my microphone in a box stuffed with pillows and there was still background noise that I do not personally know how to edit out.)
Find me on Instagram @ravishedbylight.
Find David Buchs at www.sleepwithmusic.com.
Many of us are in mourning this Easter — for our old way of life or for those who have left it, all swept away in the pandemic. In these troubled times, may you find comfort and purpose in remembering that, in Jesus, the darkness truly does precede the dawn, that dying is a prelude to resurrection. What could seem like a crass and empty cliché becomes exactly the opposite in light Jesus’ defeat on the cross of the power of sin and darkness. As we wait expectantly for the “already but not yet” of the new creation, what new life will emerge from the ashes of the coronavirus?
As you experience this Easter meditation, our prayer is that the story of the risen Christ will bring you peace and hope during a time of stress and anxiety. Don’t fear, there is Good News ahead of us!
– Written by Janine Rohrer and Carrie Myers. Voiceover and music by David Buchs.
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Find me (Carrie Myers) on instagram @ravishedbylight
Find more music by David Buchs and more meditations by Janine Rohrer and David Buchs at sleepwithmusic.com.
And keep an eye out for new guided meditations and prayers at our new website, soulspace.center, coming soon!
Today is a Good Friday unlike any I can remember. With the covid crisis still raging in New York City and hundreds of people dying every day, Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross feels very near. It feels less like an abstract religious idea and more like the reality for thousands of people all over the world who are sick or dying or losing loved ones.
My partners Janine Rohrer and David Buchs and I created this guided contemplative prayer from John 19:16-30 knowing that many of us are grieving and frightened, uncertain about the future, and needing to find solid ground. We invite you to breathe deeply of God’s presence: to walk with Jesus through his crucifixion, to speak to him out of your own emotions and experience, and to hear his loving words for you.
May you be blessed by Jesus during this time of prayer.
– Carrie
Find me on Instagram @ravishedbylight and on the blog at vineyardone.nyc.
Find David Buchs and other meditations by David Buchs and Janine Rohrer at www.sleepwithmusic.com.