Spiritual Practices: Visio Divina
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Get Thee Behind Me, Satan!
Tissot, James, 1836-1902. Get Thee Behind Me, Satan!, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56514 [retrieved February 24, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Get_Thee_Behind_Me_Satan_(R%C3%A9tire-toi_Satan)_-_James_Tissot.jpg.
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Spiritual Practices: Breath Prayer
Overview
In the preceding verses, Peter had just declared that Jesus was the Son of God and Jesus had congratulated Peter for his insight. Now, Peter is arguing with Jesus and telling him that he is about predicting his death. Jesus rebukes Peter, possibly stronger than he had rebuked anyone else up to this point. Peter's issue was that he had his own agenda, his own plans, his own way he thought things were supposed to go. Unfortunately for Peter, Jesus had other ideas.
The same thing happens with us sometimes. We have our ideas about how things are supposed to go, but Jesus has other ideas. Like Peter, we are looking at things from our point of view and not God's. Like Peter, we sometimes need to set aside our plans and agendas and surrender ourselves to God's will and his plan. That is what this short breath prayer is about.
Prayer
Wise and all-knowing God, I surrender to your will
Overview
In the preceding verses, Peter had just declared that Jesus was the Son of God and Jesus had congratulated Peter for his insight. Now, Peter is arguing with Jesus and telling him that he is about predicting his death. Jesus rebukes Peter, possibly stronger than he had rebuked anyone else up to this point. Peter's issue was that he had his own agenda, his own plans, his own way he thought things were supposed to go. Unfortunately for Peter, Jesus had other ideas.
The same thing happens with us sometimes. We have our ideas about how things are supposed to go, but Jesus has other ideas. Like Peter, we are looking at things from our point of view and not God's. Like Peter, we sometimes need to set aside our plans and agendas and surrender ourselves to God's will and his plan. That is what this short breath prayer is about.
Prayer
Wise and all-knowing God, I surrender to your will