EHS Practices – Week 7 – Day 3
THEME: Growing Up
BREATH PRAYER: Jesus, grant me a deeper love for You and for others
SETTLING IN:
- In a journal, note the day, time, and place you’re sitting.
- Open with a few moments of silence. Rest, and breathe deeply.
- Complete the following sentence in your journal: Today, I feel ________________.
- Read these words slowly (aloud or silently):
“Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in Your instructions.”
Psalm 119:18
Pray this week’s breath prayer and pause for a few moments of silence.
PRACTICE:
meditation
When we meditate on Scripture, we take a short passage and examine it closely, letting it sink into our hearts and minds and experiences. We pay attention to its subtleties. As you begin this practice, make yourself comfortable. If you’re a sensory person, use blankets or candles or other means to awaken your senses. If you’re a nature-lover, sit outside and soak in the birds’ songs and sunshine and breezes. You might play some music before you begin or in the background as you read.
Today we’ll examine Jesus’s words in John 13:34-35.
Read these two verses slowly and prayerfully, asking Jesus to guide you in your meditation. Ask Him to speak these words directly to you. If you get stuck on a word or phrase, stay there. Don’t feel pressure to finish the full passage. Look to the Lord to show you why He stopped you there and what He would like to say about it. Then sit in silence for a few moments before continuing.
Now read the verses again in smaller sections. Repeat each part several times in your mind or aloud. After each one, pause. As questions or thoughts or emotions arise, write them in your journal.
- So now I am giving you a new commandment …
- Love each other.
- Just as I have loved you …
- You should love each other.
- Your love for one another will prove to the world …
- That you are My disciples.
If your mind wanders, repeat the part you’re focused on. Ask Jesus if there’s something about what your mind wanders to that He might address with these words. Ask Him to help you listen and pay attention.
Again, there is no pressure to meditate on the full passage. Do not rush through simply to feel like you’ve “finished” the practice. It is far more important to hear what the Lord would say to you than to accomplish this as a task.
Digging Deeper: Jesus says He is giving His disciples a new commandment. Turn back to Exodus 20:1-17 and read the Ten Commandments God gave the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Consider how His new commandment aligns with these ten. How does it differ from them? What might the disciples have thought and felt as Jesus calls this a new commandment?
Summary: Write in your journal a brief summary (five sentences or less) of your meditation.
Closing: Thank God for His extravagant love for us. Jesus, grant me a deeper love for You and for others.
