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2: Second period of prayer

The Presence of God

As I begin to pray, for a minute or two I remember that God is looking at me and listening to me and loving me. I pray, ‘O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise’.

Second period of prayer

Petition

I may ask for a special grace from God this Lent, as I strive to ‘turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel’, I can take a minute now to ask God for this gift.

Second period of prayer

Picture

I may choose to focus on an image or sacred object that helps me to pray.

Second period of prayer
I could picture somebody I care about, or somebody who cannot pray themselves because they are ill or troubled

Prayer

I could read the psalm slowly all through, pausing after each few lines. Some people are helped by reading Psalms aloud when this is possible. I might then reread it, pausing the second time at phrases that touch me, repeating them again and again, allowing them to sink into my heart, to refresh me, and to enjoy the words and images. Then I can move on till I find another phrase that I wish to stay with. When I am finished I could return and repeat this method of praying the psalm again as often as I find helpful. Or I could picture somebody I care about, or somebody who cannot pray themselves because they are ill or troubled, and I could pray the psalm again for them. I might also like to move on to the Backdrop and Reflections sections on this site, and see if these help me to pray.

Psalm 91:1-6

Assurance of God’s Protection

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Psalm 91:7-13

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling-place,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

Backdrop
The Almighty is a personal and gentle God, who protects us from the evils and dangers that surround us.

In this pilgrim prayer, the first four lines describe the hope of the pilgrims who have survived the dangers of the journey, and arrive at the temple gate. After the pilgrims speak the priest recites the rest of the psalm, reminding the pilgrims that the Almighty is a personal and gentle God, who protects us from the evils and dangers that surround us.

This Jewish prayer has been a favorite for Christians. It is included in night prayers, and at healing of the sick, and is a favourite prayer of soldiers, always reminding us that God is close and protect us. Sometimes Christian pilgrims wrote phrases from psalm 91 on pieces of parchment, and wore these scraps on their clothes. This was a way of making the connection between their present journey and God’s protection.

Reflection
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
George Herbert
  • The poet George Herbert describes prayer as ‘heart in pilgrimage’. In prayer can I enter into the spirit of the psalm? Can I imagine myself as the pilgrim at the door of the temple, tired and hungry and dusty and weary from the journey, and asking the Lord for protection and love? What makes me weary? What do I ask for?
  • Do I tend to regard God as distant and aloof, or as close and concerned? Is there an invitation here for me to change how I see of God? The Psalm invites me to rest, to recuperate with the Most High. Am I comfortable with this picture of intimacy, or do I shy away from it?
  • How do I understand the prayer ‘no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.’ Is this a promise that God will free us from trouble and keep us far from danger, or that God will be with us and love us and make us strong when trouble comes?
  • Pilgrims sometimes have to move on from where they are comfortable. Does it help me to consider myself as pilgrims? Where do I find it difficult to move on? Is the Lord asking me to move or change this Lent, as I journey towards Easter?

Reflection
  • The psalmist dreads injury, like a wounded foot or an attack by a fierce or poisonous animal. Where do I feel safe? What people make me feel safe? Can I thank God for them?
  • If I had to imitate the pilgrims who wrote a phrase from this psalm on parchment, and wore it on their cloak, as a way of asking for God’s protection, what phrase would I choose?
  • The psalm says that the Lord will ‘command his angels to guard you on your ways’. Can I think of times when my prayer for help was miraculously answered? Did God send angels to help me? Do strangers helping strangers take on the role of God’s angels?
  • Can I pray this Psalm in solidarity with a group of people who have troubles, like the people of Haiti after their earthquake, or with the parents of people in prison, or with people I know who carry heavy burdens?

Review of the time of prayer
  • How did the prayer go?
  • What touched my heart? What attracted me? What did I find difficult?
  • Was there something I would like to return to?
  • Was there a phrase of verse that I would like to remember?
  • What notes to myself do I want to make, to be reviewed at the end of the retreat?
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