Meditation for July 2007

[Jesus] came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place…he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down and prayed. Luke 22:39-41

This quotation from the Gospel of St. Luke, gives us a good example to follow when we pray. It tells us that Christ had a customary place to which he went to pray, that he had a daily prayer routine and that his disciples followed him.

It is important to have a routine for prayer—as far as possible, the same time and same place each day. It is important to have a customary time and place for our daily ritual of prayer and meditation—a place where one can leave one’s prayer books, spiritual reading material and Bible; a place where one can return day after day; a place where a spiritual presence or atmosphere permeates the space and is built up over time. This will become a place where one anticipates returning, feels welcomed into the spiritual presence, and continues on where one left off the previous day.

One can, of course, pray anywhere and does. Christ was an itinerant preacher and must have had many places where he could find alone-time to be with God but, the Mount of Olives appears to have had a very strong pull for him, giving him a feeling of closeness with the Father. The disciples sometimes followed him when he prayed, though often, he went alone. But, even when the disciples accompanied him, we are told that Jesus withdrew a little way from them so that he could be alone with God, the Father, when he prayed.

So, then, these three things come across as being important aspects in communion with God—a routine, a special place and solitude. It is true that we go to church and worship God in the presence of others; we go to meetings about religion and church business with others; and we go to socials and fundraisers with other members of our church. However, when we need to talk with God, meditate on God’s word, or contemplate God, we need to be alone with God.

We can, of course, be alone with God in the midst of others. When I was in the convent, we had a 30 minute daily ritual, early in the morning before corporate worship began, to meditate silently on God—together yet separate. I found great strength in this and did not find the presence of others around me to be distracting. But, if it is possible for you to have a special space for your prayer time, follow Christ’s example in this and go there regularly. Make a customary daily exercise of joy, strength and communion with God.

 © Judith Lawrence, July 2007

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