Everyday Mystic: Practicing the Presence of God (09.16.18)
Opening Prayer & Silence
Invite one person to open the group in prayer and then sit in 5 minutes of silence with God.
Understanding the Presence of God
Read this passage about the presence of God (Nehemiah 2:1-8) and discuss:
- What do you find interesting about this passage of Scripture?
- Examining this story, how does the presence of God seem to affect people in daily life?
- What is revealed about the character of God through this brief story?
Practicing the Presence of God
Take 10 minutes to prayerfully journal on your phone or in a notebook with one or more of these reflection prompts. The reflection will help prepare you to practice the presence of God in your daily life.
- Write out 3-4 of the most time-consuming aspects of your life (work, relationships, hobbies, etc.). Ask God what He wants you to know about how He’d like to meet you in these. Write any impressions, words, or images that you think might be from the Lord.
- Brother Lawrence prayed “Lord of all pots and pans and things… Make me a saint by getting the meals and washing up the plates!” Write your own short prayer modeled after this to help you practice God’s presence in your day-to-day work.
- When we live in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we make ourselves available to be used by Him. What does God want you to know about how He might want to work through your unique abilities, interests, and spheres of influence?
- Reflect broadly about the Everyday Mystic series’ emphases on union with God, meditation, prayer, abiding in Christ, and practicing the presence of God. What is important for you to remember learning from this Everyday Mystic series?
Return to a larger group and share about your time of prayer and reflection.
Closing Prayer
Our city is named after St. Francis, and it’s our hope as a church to live into our spiritual heritage sovereignly laid out by God. Let’s close by praying the prayer of St. Francis aloud together:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life
Amen.