Spiritual formation is a process of opening our lives more and more to the work of the Holy Spirit as we seek a deeper walk with God. In order to offer hospitality and full welcome to the Presence of God through Christ, we must create a hospitable environment—a sacred space within our lives. To do that, however, some house cleaning is needed. There are many desires, wants
I am happy to offer a way to begin—with a prayer that enables us to welcome the Spirit with more honesty and less hindrance. When you first begin to pray the prayer, you may feel that you do not mean what you are saying. (Quite honestly, that will most likely be the case.) However, just saying the words will open our minds to the possibilities for which our souls long.
Over time, if prayed from a genuine thirst for God, the words will not only become your heart’s words, but also a true invitation to the Spirit. Renewed spiritual peace, meaningful living and a deeper walk with God will be the outcome. But here is the real essence of what will happen—the words will become an invitation to your soul to respond to the welcome God has been offering you all along. God desires communion with you more than you know. He is not far from us. Jesus said that God is near. In fact, He said that the Kingdom of God is within you. Wherever God is worshiped and served, there the Kingdom reigns.
Our Unwelcoming Culture
We put up far more barriers to the Spirit than we realize because we are so heavily entrenched in our culture. In fact, we
your life.
When you realize that it doesn’t have to be that way and shouldn’t be that way, it is time to follow the lead of Thomas Keating and pray the prayer he offered:
The Welcoming Prayer
By Father Thomas Keating
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me today
because I know it’s for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons,
situations, and conditions.
I let go of my desire for power and control.
I let go of my desire for affection, esteem,
approval and pleasure.
I let go of my desire for survival and security.
I let go of my desire to change any situation,
condition, person or myself.
I open to the love and presence of God and
God’s action within. Amen.
The principles in Keating’s prayer are reflected in the very popular and well-loved “Serenity Prayer,” written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). He wrote the prayer for a sermon in 1934, but it was first published in a 1951 magazine column. At first, the prayer was spread through Niebuhr’s sermons and church groups in the 1930s and 1940s. Later, it was adopted and popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs.
Because of its simplicity, the “Serenity Prayer” is easy to recall and pray throughout the day:
If we gather up the elements of both prayers, we could pray something like this:
Prayer for a Deeper Walk with God
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I invite and welcome you into my life, to commune together through all of it.
I commit myself to prepare for your coming by discarding what is not serving your purposes or my spiritual longings.
Grant me, O Lord, the serenity to accept the things I cannot or should not control or change—any person, place or thing and any situation, context or condition.
Grant me the courage and strength to change what I should change in myself rather than in another.
Rather than seeking acceptance and belonging where I must earn approval through status, help
Above all, grant me the wisdom to know the difference between your will and my will—your longings for my eternal security and my wants for personal and earthly security.
Bring me to peace as I welcome you into my heart by surrendering all that stands in the way of the formation in Christ promised in the scriptures.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my Redeemer and Lord. Amen.
May all of these prayer approaches help you discover a fresh opening into a deeper walk with God. Amen.
For further reading, see the article Spiritual Formation Fundamentals.
Sources:
Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.
Contemplative Outreach Ireland
Busted Halo
Wikipedia (Serenity Prayer)
