{"id":184,"date":"2016-01-13T01:26:54","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T05:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/?p=184"},"modified":"2016-01-13T01:27:10","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T05:27:10","slug":"prayer-process-get-out-of-your-own-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/?p=184","title":{"rendered":"Prayer Process: Get Out of Your Own Way"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A cold & overcast morning encompassed those of us alumni who were fortunate enough to be at the Jesuit Retreat Complex. Our task: to pray with nature, to set aside the distractions that normally govern our minds and souls, and to focus on God’s presence in the beauty of nature around us.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Not wanting to subject myself to the challenge of unfamiliar terrain, nor the winters elements of January, I opted to stay indoors. \u00a0I found a comfy sofa near a large tri-panel of windows. Beyond the glass I saw trees, hills, and land stretching as far as I could see. \u00a0I gazed out upon a particular tall tree, in full winter, leaves long gone, branches and limbs reaching upward and outward and reacting to the frigid gusts that randomly swept through the area. \u00a0The tree reminded me of FAITH, standing strong from wear and tear, from elements, outside pressures and time.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I really wanted to go deeper into that tree, and message that God wanted me to hear and learn.Then the winds picked up, distracting me. \u00a0There were strong winds sweeping through the area, and my focus was broken. \u00a0Back to the tree I said! \u00a0But then two creatures, birds, with long wings stretched out, flew into my view and once more I was distracted. \u00a0I became transfixed on their flight, their pattern, and the wonderful aerial dance that they were performing before me. \u00a0Back to the tree!! \u00a0Must concentrate on God! \u00a0But then droplets of rain began a rhythmic beat on the building I was in, and this further distracted me! \u00a0Back to the tree I implored!<\/div>\n
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0And then I paused and a laugh stirred within my soul. \u00a0For in my determination to focus on the tall tree as my choice for God in this prayer exercise, it struck me that in fact ALL of the things in my experience were manifestations of God’s message to me. \u00a0I acknowledged that tall tree as the rock of faith. The wind is the Spirit constantly coming and going and flowing through my life. \u00a0The birds were the reminder of the hopes and aspirations, I had yet to realize. \u00a0And finally, that rhythmic rain represented those in my life, given by God, who repeatedly remind me that they need my prayers, love, and attention: my wife, my daughters and my family and friends! \u00a0I had inadvertently tried making this whole process harder than it needed to be. \u00a0Lesson learned: When it comes to prayer, conversing with our Heavenly Father, sometimes just get out of our own way, and surrender. \u00a0A wise priest friend of mine has pointed out, “If praying seems painful or difficult, maybe you’re doing it wrong.”<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A cold & overcast morning encompassed those of us alumni who were fortunate enough to be at the Jesuit Retreat Complex. Our task: to pray with nature, to set aside the distractions that normally govern our minds and souls, and to focus on God’s presence in the beauty of nature around us. \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.epistleforjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}