1. The “Jesus Prayer”: At The Heart Of Our Work

 Versions of the Jesus Prayer have been prayed by Greek and Russian Orthodox for centuries. It has been rediscovered by Modern Catholics. For Protestants it may seem a bit strange to start with, but I invite you to give it a go. My version of the “Jesus Prayer” goes something like this:

               ‘Jesus. Saviour. May I know your love. And make it known.’

• Sit in a comfortable position.
• Ask the Spirit to put you in touch with the Spirit of Jesus.
• Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting face to face with Jesus.
• Sit quietly, sensing his presence, breathing slowly, looking into his face.
• Breathe in and say ‘Jesus’, and imagine taking in the love of Jesus.
• Breathe out and say ‘Saviour’, and let go of all that is contrary to his love.
• Breath in again, say ‘May I know your love,’ and sense his love for you.
• Breathe out, say ‘May I make it known,’ and sense his love others.
• Do this aloud to start with. Again and again. Increasingly slowly, softly.
• Take the pray into your heart. Pray it by heart. Be aware of what you feel.
• Say it with joy or with sorrow, but say it with your whole heart.

2. Encountering Jesus In The Scripture

I’d like to invite you Invite you to imagine, and engage with “Jesus and the Leper – (or as we say these days) – the Man With Leprosy.”

One of the best ways we can encounter Jesus is in the scriptures. But in order to encounter the person of Jesus in the scriptures we need to move beyond an analytical approach towards a more imaginative approach to scripture – creatively using our five senses.

• Read the story of “Jesus and the Man With Leprosy” in Mk 1:40-45
• If you have any commentaries, read as much as you can about it.
• If not, don’t worry. Just read the story again until you get a feel for it.
• Use your senses to imagine the setting.
  • See it, hear it, smell it, touch it, taste it.
• Then locate yourself in the story. As Jesus. A disciple. Or as the leper.
• This time round try to identify yourself with the man with leprosy.
• Then let the story roll, and take it as it comes.

• Then ask yourself these questions …
  • If you were the “leper” – the man with leprosy,
  • How would you feel about Jesus’ response to you?
  • Let’s go round the circle and, if you can, say it out loud.

• Later, ask yourself the question
  • What can you learn from this story about Jesus’ love?

3. Remembering Jesus In Our Context

I’d like to invite you to imagine encountering Jesus here and now.

• Sit in a comfortable position.
• As you breathe in, say the ‘Jesus Prayer’:

‘Jesus. Saviour. May I know your love. And make it known’

• Imagine as we settle we hear someone walking into the room.
• We open our eyes to see who it is. And we see that it is Jesus.
• How do you imagine you would feel if Jesus walked into the room?
• Now imagine that Jesus slowly walks around the room, greets each of us by name, gives all of us a big hug, and whispers something into our ear.
• What do you imagine Jesus would say to you?
• Let’s go round the circle and, if you can, say it out loud.

• Later evaluate the exercise. The role of ‘imagination’ creates the possibility of ‘listening’ to the ‘still small voice’, but it also requires the responsibility of evaluating what we imagine that we ‘hear’ in light of the gospels. 

4. Praying With People Like Jesus

I’d like to invite you to think about your experiences of “intercession”. If possible. Recalling specific prayers of intercession you have heard others pray publicly.  Take one example and analyse the content, process, and impact of the prayer.

As I have already said, we need to review the idea of “intercession”. The   word “intercessor” literally means ” a person who gets involved with someone, who has got themselves into a bit of predicament, and pleads on their behalf”. Like Christ “who always lives to intercede for us” Hebrews 5:27 The intercessor is NOT one who “comes against anyone”, but one “who comes alongside someone and helps them express the deepest desires of their heart that they cannot express themselves.” Like the Spirit who helps us pray. “We often do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit intercedes for us in a way that our words cannot express.” Romans 8:26.  And we need to learn to do the same for others. It involves both the capacity to feel empathy and to express it in a way that others can relate to. (eg Jesus with Mary and Martha at the tomb of Lazarus. Jesus John 11: 33-36

I’d like to invite you to join me in a process of empathic intercession.

• Sit in a comfortable position.
• Ask the Spirit to put you in touch with the Spirit of Jesus.
• Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting with Jesus.
• Breathe slowly, sensing his presence, looking into his face.
• As you breathe in, say the ‘Jesus Prayer’:

‘Jesus. Saviour. May I know your love. And make it known

• Think of a time recently when someone said something to you that struck you as being very important to them. It might have been a problem they are facing; a solution to a problem they are looking for; an option they are considering; or a plan that they want to try. It could be something they’ve done that did – or didn’t – work out.
• Recall what they said (issues) – and how they said it (emotions).
• Recollect the language that they used to describe their feelings.
• Then imagine Jesus as they were talking to you Jesus comes by. He asks them about what they’re saying. And they say to you – ‘You tell him.’
• Say a prayer on their behalf expressing their feelings in their language.

5. Praying The Day With Jesus

• Sit in a comfortable position.
• Ask the Spirit to put you in touch with the Spirit of Jesus.
• Close your eyes and imagine you are sitting with Jesus.
• Breathe slowly, sensing his presence, looking into his face.
• Then, as you breathe in, say  the ‘Jesus Prayer’:

‘Jesus. Saviour. May I know your love. And make it known

• Bring to mind the most encouraging moments of the day.
• Where do you imagine Jesus was in those moments?
• Then bring to mind the most challenging moments of the day.
• Where do you imagine Jesus was in those moments?
• Sit quietly and listen to your heart.

See my new book Out And Out published by Mosaic Melbourne 2012