The following post is unlike my other posts. I am attempting to put into words some of my experiences with Christ through prayer. I do not want people to think I am trying to be mysterious or some enigmatic mystic. I am a baby in the faith and could simply find no other way to adequately put my experiences into words.
Theosis: We commune with God through prayer
[inhale]
Lord Jesus Christ
[exhale]
have mercy on me
[inhale]
Lord Jesus Christ
[exhale]
have mercy on me
I do not breathe or pray alone,
I do not speak on my own.
But Christ dwells within me,
speaking the words in me,
singing praises through me.
I inhale, “Lord Jesus Christ,” recognizing that Jesus is life itself. Knowing that the beating of my heart is the rhythm of his love. All creation is held together in Him and by Him. All creation includes me. I am in my Savior and He is in me.
I exhale, “have mercy on me” knowing that one day I will exhale for the last time. My body will return to dust. “Have mercy on me” acknowledges this life is a gift from God. I hope that in my final breath, whenever that mysterious hour comes, I say, “have mercy on me.”
I do not ask for mercy because I am scared.
I ask for mercy because He loves me, and in some broken way, I love Him too.
The purpose of prayer is to be in communion with this Being of Life who dwells within me. I do not pray to God “out there,” but must remember to pray to God “in here.” When I breathe, it is Christ breathing. When I sing, it is Him singing. He lives within me, dwelling in the most intimate way possible.
Tears sometimes accompany these prayers. As with His grace and mercy, they are a gift too.
Through His tears, through His death, through His cross, joy has come to all of the world.
And through my tears, through my death to self, and by being crucified with my Savior, joy is coming into my world.
Theosis begins with prayer,
Theosis ends with prayer.
Beautiful… and a good reminder to breathe the eternal every moment of this short life.
Lovely indeed! Besides a reminder to pray, as Paul urges, every moment of every day, praying while breathing is a lovely metaphor to inhale the very breath of God, while exhaling all that is not God. Or so the advice was from my own Mum, a dyed in the wool Presbyterian. Actually, she directly said every action, not just every breath, should be done as prayer. Talk about high standards!
When praying, there are moments for me when head and heart unite, and all is well with everything. There are also days of constant interruption, when praying becomes difficult, and words of, “I’ll have to continue this later…” come out of my mouth. I do go back, usually with an, “as I was saying…” and “sorry about that interruption…” Riiight. Like God doesn’t know? Like this is a surprise? Yet, it happens. Even as I strive to have everything be prayer driven, praying still sometimes is a set aside thing, apart from the stuff of life, yet never truly that far from prayer. Keeping the Hours helps to slip from specific prayer to having Christ sitting alongside as i work, or do other things in life. It is similar to being passengers in a car while the two of us drive it.
This was beautiful, and brought me tears.