| HEALING
TIMES & SPACES |
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PRAYING
IN SMALL GROUPS Format
(Please
note THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION - This will last between ten and twenty minutes INTERCESSIONSA time of five or ten minutes for prayers for other people. This is done in silence or in BRIEF spoken prayer We
close by standing together in a circle, holding hands, with our eyes open, THROUGH SILENCE - WITH THE IMAGINATION ‘Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire O, still small voice of calm’ The purpose of any time set aside to be silent with, or for, God is to allow ourselves to hear the voice of God within ourselves. Any object, or word we use, is simply a tool to help us to be attentive to the ‘still, small voice’. In our normal Thursday morning group, we come together and settle down after a simple prayer to God to reveal Himself to us, and without further introduction a short reflection on a text or verse of a hymn is offered. What we do is to begin with a reflection and repeat it - or add to it - every ten or fifteen minutes, and all this lasts about half an hour. Often we have a piece of paper with one or two lines of the reflection on it so that people have it in their hands to help their concentration. People can sit with their eyes open or closed whichever is more helpful for them. Examples of some are: ‘I love you - I
call you by your name’ Sometimes we contemplate a gift of the creation - a stone, a spring flower or autumn leaves. We use readings and prayers from Eddie Askew and David Adam, verses from hymns and poems, ideas from the Iona Community and the Celtic tradition. Occasionally we end by sharing what we experience during the time of silence. Normally we finish with a time of intercession and finally we close by standing together in a circle, holding hands, with our eyes open, saying the words of the Grace to each other. This is the format
we use regularly on a Thursday morning 9.45 am. Anyone is welcome to join us -
it is not necessary to let us know beforehand. THROUGH SILENCE - BREATHING, MOVING, PRAYER Sit comfortably, check you are relaxed, and begin by offering this time to God. Usually one person guides the group enabling the others to become more attentive to their breath and/or heartbeat and then leading people in a simple gesture of prayer with hands allowing a different way of listening to what is within us, a different beginning place for prayer. They will say something like - Bring your awareness to your breath. It is often helpful to take a couple of deep breaths to start with. After that simply breathe normally and observe how your breath travels up and down the trunk of your body. Some people find it helpful to have one or both hands on their belly or on their chest so that they connect strongly with the physical movement. Others prefer to focus on their breath going in and out of their nostrils. And now: Continue with the ‘loving breath’ feeding you, nurturing you, offering you the gift of life every moment. If it is helpful to you, you may want to say a prayer to yourself every time you breathe in, and every time you breathe out. You might, for example, on the in-breath say: ‘Thank you for the gift of life’, and on the out-breath: ‘Thank you that I can relax into your loving Presence all around me’ HAND MOVEMENTSThere are several very simple hand movements using traditional gestures of prayer. For example, place your palms together somewhere around your chest area and simply open and close your hands in a spirit of prayer, asking that God open your heart. Again, if it is helpful to you, you can use words to accompany these movements. You are encouraged to experiment with this and to discover how powerful it is to keep on repeating these movements especially when you feel like stopping. Speak to God and see if you can find words to express why you are resisting continuing with this prayer of openness. This may lead to your being able to voice some of the inner resistances you feel and share them with our God of love. Another example of praying with your hands is to start with your hands in an open receptive position on your knees and then either raise them up in a gesture of praise or bring them into your heart again. As above, form your own prayers to accompany the movement and explore what thoughts, feelings or sensations arise, if any. Normally we finish with about ten minutes for any sharing or reflection which emerges. Then we have a time of intercession. This
is the format we use regularly on a Thursday afternoon 2 pm. Anyone is welcome
to join us - it is not necessary to let us know beforehand. This section offers simple formats as guidelines for small groups of people praying together for one another. PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER THROUGH SILENCE(for three to five people normally) Some of you will be familiar with this way of praying for each other and, listening to God for each other. For some of you this will probably be new. Please be sensitive to one another and support one another in your small group. What we do is pray for one another in turn. Each person will have a few minutes when the others pray for them, hold them in God’s love . . . God’s embrace . . . God’s light. . . If this is new for you, it can sometimes be helpful to imagine the person prayed for being held in God’s light and to say a brief prayer for them. Then simply wait. Don’t try to DO anything. Just wait and see if the words of a hymn, or a picture or a text of Scripture, or a feeling or any words come to you. Then at the appropriate moment, share simply what came to you - NOT what you think it means - and offer this to the person being prayed for as a gift. If you have heard something important for them, God will help them understand what it means. Here, step
by step, is what we ask you to do in your small groups: This normally takes thirty to forty minutes for three or four people. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHAT IS SHARED IS CONFIDENTIALPRAYING FOR EACH OTHER - WITH JUST ONE OTHER PERSON Find someone with whom you are glad to share in prayer. Sit in silence together for an agreed length of time, each holding the other up before God in an imaginative way. Then, in turn, share whatever may have come in the silence. It seems best not to discuss what each has received for the other, from God; rather, sit together in silence for a further short period of time allowing what has been said to be received and giving thanks. A variation on the above is for nothing to be said at all, allowing all the praying and sharing with each other to take place in silence. Again, give thanks. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHAT IS SHARED IS CONFIDENTIAL PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER - FOR GROUPS of THREE or FOUR Each person takes it in turn to express a need, physical or other, of some kind. Then, after a short or longer period of silence, the others will one by one pray for the person in need out loud. The process is repeated until everyone has been prayed for. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHAT IS SHARED IS CONFIDENTIAL TWO FORMS OF PRAYER FOR LARGER GROUPS The group sit in a circle close enough to comfortably hold hands. People then either hold hands or place the right hand on the left shoulder of their neighbour. Then everyone prays silently for the person on their right. After three or four minutes the group leader may say ‘Lord, hear our prayers’. The silent time of prayer is then repeated, but with each person laying their left hand on their neighbour’s right shoulder, and praying for that person. This time of group prayer may be ended with everyone stretching open hands into the centre of the group, the group leader saying: ‘Let all give thanks: let us say the grace together . . . ‘May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ . . .’
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHAT IS SHARED IS CONFIDENTIAL OPENING PRAYER Father God, We ask Your blessing upon this healing time. Open our eyes that we may see new things. Open our ears to hear what You have to say to us. Open our hearts to Your wisdom and understanding. Give us the courage to look at difficult things. Give us the grace to face what holds us back. Bring us sensitivity to listen to You and each other. Bring us the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent - surrounded by Jesus’ love. CLOSING PRAYER We give You thanks, Giver of Life, and ask that whatever has been planted in our hearts will grow. We trust You, Holy Spirit,
to speak into our memories Living God, enfold
us. |