6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:6-9 NIV)
6 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7 Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Phil. 4:6-9 The Message)
A Word from Papa
Your call to prayer is always greater than your response. In these days that are upon you, prayer is my greatest call. The un-certainty and turmoil of the world around you will continue to deteriorate. This will escalate as in the Days of Noah
Jesus said: “As it was in the Days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the Ark: and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. (Matthew 24:37-39a NIV)
My precious children; you will be unprepared and even taken unaware of what is happening and about to happen apart from prayer. You will also be consumed by fret and worry without deeper listening prayer. I am calling you into an ever deepening dimension of prayer (silence, solitude, inner journey and journaling). These dimensions of prayer will transcend the tyranny of understanding.
In this place of prayer, you will know My Presence as never before and My Peace will transcend all understanding and will guard your hearts and minds in Me. Look for and expect My guard over your heart and mind.
Also, in this prayerful and transcendent place, you will receive more than adequate Mercy and Grace for all contingencies (1. Something that may happen, unbeknown to you apart from this place of prayer: an event that may occur in the future, especially a problem, emergency, or expense that might arise unexpectedly and therefore must be prepared for). I want to empower you to budget spiritually for these difficult times.
I will provide specific, moment by moment direction from My Spirit, and you will be sharper in your hearing of My prophetic unction’s and utterances’. Therefore, in this transcendent place you will have no need to ‘lean on your own understanding!’
Here you are always invited to ask for My Wisdom…
2 “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. 3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. 4 So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. 5 If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help (and will give you His Wisdom-not the wisdom of the world). You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. 6 Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. 7 Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, 8 adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.” (James 1:2-8 Msg.)
Be encouraged, I will be your constant interpreter. I will interpret the times; moment by moment. Walk in the revelation of Christ in you.
20 Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God (or as KJV puts this: “by the faith of the Son of God”), who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, Msg.)
Finally, this transcendent place will become My prayer and presence in and through you. Here you will be kept in faith and singleness of heart and mind. Abide and rest in Me.
In the grip of the prayerful place of transcendence! Ron Ross
Comments
from the book "Contemplative Prayer" authored by Thomas Merton
What is the purpose of meditation in the sense of "the prayer of the heart?" In "the prayer of the heart" we seek first of all the deepest ground of our identity in God. We do not reason about dogmas of faith, or "the mysteries." We seek rather to gain a direct existential grasp, a personal experience of the deepest truths of life and faith, finding ourselves in God's truth. Inner certainty depends on purification. The dark night rectifies our deepest intentions. In the silence of this "night of faith" we return to simplicity and sincerity of heart. We learn recollection which consists in listening for God's will, in direct and simple attention to reality. Recollection is awareness of the unconditional. Prayer then means yearning for the simple presence of God, for a personal understanding of his word, for knowledge of his will and for capacity to hear and obey him. It is thus something much more than uttering petitions for good things external to our own deepest concerns.
Our desire and our prayer should be summed up in St. Augustine's words: Noverim te, noverim me. We wish to gain a true evaluation of ourselves and of the world so as to understand the meaning of our life as children of God redeemed from sin and death. We wish to gain a true loving knowledge of God, our Father and Redeemer. We wish to loose ourselves in his love and rest in him. We wish to hear his word and respond to it with our whole being. We wish to hear his word and respond to it with our whole being. We wish to know his merciful will and submit to it in its totality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centering_prayer