Liz Babbs - Into Gods Presence: Listening to God through Prayer and Meditation

In a spiritual age, Christians are rediscovering the ancient disciplines of Christian mysticism. Liz Babbs book gives a friendly and approachable introduction to Christian meditation, and my hope is that it will stimulate many to venture into an enriching and rewarding new journey with Jesus Christ.

Meditation is at the heart of the churchs expertise. The more I study it, the more I come to the conclusion that weve let the world steal this treasure away from us. The pathetic pile of meditation cards sold in New Age meditation kits seem a poor alternative to the thousands of years of experience which the church has in its treasure store!

The writings of the great mystics demonstrate that Christian meditation begins with an overwhelming sense of eternity and timelessness. In Christian mysticism we begin by being engulfed by the divine. We need to begin with what Theodore Roosevelt, one of the most powerful men in the world, used to call cutting down to size. William Beebe described it in these words:

Theodore Roosevelt and I used to play a little game together. After an evening of talk, we would go out on the lawn and search the skies until we found the faint spot of light-mist beyond the lower left-hand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then one or the other of us would recite: That is the spiral galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million galaxies. It consists of one hundred million suns, each larger than our sun. Then Roosevelt would grin at me and say: Now I think we are small enough! Lets go to bed. [from Donald E. Miller, Reinventing American Protestantism. Univ. of Calif., 1997.]

In an increasingly spiritual age in which words seem to clutter our consciousness rather than liberate it, I want to be cut down to size. I want to enter into the experience of the Psalmist, who, in Psalm 46:10 wrote: Be still, and know that I am God.

The evangelists were the peacemakers of eighteenth-century Christianity, the missionaries led the way in the nineteenth century, and the martyrs have been at the forefront of Christian witness in the twentieth century. I believe that it is the Christian mystics who will be the ones with much to say to a postmodern society. They will model how to live in the stillness of the presence of God and will play a significant role in shaping the society of the twenty-first century.

The current disillusionment with consumerism, materialism and the mass production of our age has driven many to seek a richer interconnectedness and to hunger for a new harmony with nature and the changing seasons. Essentially, this is a hunger for God, and I share it with them.

In a world of growing pressure and pain, I need to discover a form of Christian spirituality which does not separate me from the world but which enables me to find the stillness of Gods presence in the thick of the action! I want to

nurture that relationship with Christ which is at the heart of true Christian experience. I want to give it time and learn how to practise the presence of Christ.

I take seriously the need for a focused life of prayer. My life must model that prayer leads me to a richer quality of life, a more healthy perspective, and a holistic perception of myself. I want to be a Spiritually Alive Christian, to leave behind my earthly thoughts and reasoning, my daily preoccupation with the self and discover the greatness, the reality, the glory and the Presence of God.

The Psalmists were driven by this mystical passion for the re-awakening of God consciousness. Their poetry gives evidence again and again of a sense of abiding communion, and of the reality of a Divine Presence not confined to time or place. They are linked to God in an enduring unity. So, today I will find a quiet location. Wear casual clothing. Put on some helpful music. Light a candle. Pick up my Bible and read:

Yet I am always with you;

You hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

And afterwards you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Psalm 73:2325

I will let the words roll around my experience and begin to meditate on the closeness and love of God. I will practise the presence of God and allow him to take me on a journey with a destination, a journey into his healing, restoring love. A journey into a new Christian experience.

I believe that through meditation God wants to give us new perspectives on old situationshis perspectives. I believe as we give ourselves to him in worship and the word and in relationship and in prayer, we begin to gain his perspective and find beauty and grace. Our situation may not changebut we will. And that enables us to rejoice in hope, to find hope.