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An old Jewish tale is of a king with seven sons. The sons are standing back to back before the king. The youngest son is trying to stay on tiptoe to see the king. Someone taps the boy on the shoulder. Upon turning the boy is surprised to see his father. The father inquires, “My dear son, why are you straining so hard?” The prince replies, “To see you, father.” “My child," says the father, "I am right here behind you, always, you need not strain so.”
I offer directions on the Prayer of Presence:
1. Begin your prayerful Silence.
2. Become attentive to the Presence of God.
A sense or feeling of Presence may present to you. Or, you may not feel or sense the Presence. This is a prayer of faith, not feeling. However, feelings or sensations of Presence might be present. To assist in warming the heart to the Gentle Fire of Presence, you can utilize images.
Marjorie J. Thompson, in Soul Feast, suggests these images:
a. A child cradled in the lap of a wonderful parent or grandparent
b. An ocean of light gently supporting
c. An enfolding peaceful warmth
3. Rest in the Silence, being with the Spirit of God, enjoying Love
4. End the Communion by thanking God for any gifts you received during the companioning time (healing, dissolving of anxiety, guidance, courage, insight…)
Regarding insight, let insight arise naturally in silent forms of prayer. Insight does arise and often, for being with God in Silence opens inner space for clarification and guidance to come to you. But, do not strive for insight when doing forms of meditative prayer.
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I was speaking on the phone with a church member about a health crisis in her husband’s immediate family, for the mother-in-law is in the last stages of Alzheimer’s. After we talked for about ten minutes, the daughter-in-law expressed gratitude for my call. I replied, “Thank you for sharing.” The word “sharing” seemed appropriate to image the generosity of expressing concern and mutual compassion, for, likewise, this person was speaking to me about my mother, who had both cancer and Alzheimer's.
Reflecting on that “sharing,” I recall that is our Purpose for being on this earth. Love is sharing. Sharing is love. Simply being with others, what I call companioning, is a way to practice learning to share presence, which is often blocked by our feeling that we must say something. To Practice silence and Prayerful Presence, then, is a way of learning better to be with others and share Presence with them.
Learning to pray by being with God, in a mutual companioning relationship, is more important than trying to say something to God. In fact, this way of praying is essential for us to learn better how to speak and what to say in the Presence of God. Without the practice of prayerful Silence, much praying in faith communities comes over more as familiar cliches than a lively, dynamic, interior communion with the Spirit of God at the Center of our very being, at the Center of all creation.
Before concluding, I return to the idea of insight. Many view prayer as something we do after we are already doing. We act and, then, we seek God to lead us during the action. Melvyn Mattthews, in Making Room for God: A Guide to Contemplative Prayer, challenges that assumption. Matthews claims that we are to engage prayer prior to acting. Doing arises out of prayer, rather than prayer being seen as just something to support our acting. We we seek to be with God and open to Divine guidance up front. This praying and doing becomes a unified process; we pray, we act, we pray, we act, ...
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