Centering Prayer

Sometimes as we pray, we need to let go rather than try harder. We receive, rather than make something happen. This sense of letting go is at the heart of centering prayer.

Thomas Keating describes centering prayer as an experience of being intentionally silent before God. When we pray in silence, we use no words, we do not dwell on any thoughts, and we do not follow the wanderings of our minds. It is, as he says, like taking a vacation from our selves.

The goal of centering prayer is:

• to be attentive to the presence of God within…centering all of your attention and desire on him (Not like meditation where the goal is to empty yourself)
• to learn to dwell in this presence that the fruit of the dwelling shows up in your everyday life.
• to consent to God's presence and action within.

The purpose of centering prayer is not to get a word from God or any sort of divine revelation or experience…although experiences may occasionally happen.

The purpose of this prayer is to bring the believer to a state of inner stillness before the Lord, trusting that in this stillness – in this communion with the Lord – we will be changed; He will work on our hearts.

How to Practice

1. Choose a sacred word or short phrase as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within. The word or phrase should communicate God’s love to you.
   • Examples would be Lord, Jesus, Abba, Father, Love, Peace, shalom, or phrases such as I receive your love for me, or the Jesus prayer.
   • Having chosen a word, do not change it during the prayer period…that is too much thinking.
2. Sit comfortably…
   • Don’t sit so comfortably to encourage sleep, but comfortably enough to avoid thinking about the discomfort of your body during this time of prayer.
   • Keep the back straight; assume an open posture.
3. Close your eyes.
   • Let go of all thoughts, tensions and sensations that you may feel
   • Rest in the love of God who dwells within
   • Gently introduce your sacred word or phrase
   • As thoughts subside and you become restfully aware, simply let go of the word or phrase.
   • Just BE in the stillness.
   • Return to your word or phrase as your only response to thoughts, questions, or any anxieties that may arise.
4. Emerge slowly from the silence - even if you don’t feel you need it. Take a couple of minutes to express thanks to God, or recite the Lord’s Prayer.

The above is adapted from a guide from Sustainable Faith.