With thanks to Underground Pewster for suggesting this topic
Losing your religion? What resources may help renewal during spiritual slow downs and do you have any experience of using them?
Open Thread: What resources may help renewal during spiritual slow downs?
Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life
1. Years ago a favorite priest/pastor taught about how to lose your religion and become a Christian. Based on the gospel of Luke if I remember correctly.
2. I have learned during the past year that God does wonders when I attend especially the week day services at my local Greek Orthodox Church. Putting myself and just being in the presence of the whole company of heaven for three hour stretches at a time does wonders for soul and body. (I have also been recovering from Lyme these last few months.) This allows God to work on me and what He wants me to be. Not what I think I ought to be. (P.S. After a life time, 72 years, of being an Episcopalian, God led me into the Orthodox Church. Five years later I am most thankful.)
I don’t really have any experience of a “dark night of the soul”, though there have been dry patches. The first I remember was as a late teenager at my boarding school. I was seeking contact and growth and nothing was happening, even when I sat praying in the chapel – so I am afraid my thinking rather went: “Well if you can’t be bothered with me, I can’t be bothered with you.” So I put God on the back burner for a bit – as unfinished business and got on with life. I still attended services, was part of a small group of Christians in the school who took communion regularly, continued in the choral society to sing one mass after another and regarded myself as a Christian believer. It took someone else to help me realise that you are part of a family whether you are talking to each other or not, and things got better.
Now I think I have realised that God speaks if He has something to say, and the Spirit moves in your life when He is equipping you for something you have to do. I find God economical in effort and directed in what he does – He does things for a purpose. I don’t find him ‘chatty’ for the sake of it. There will be dry times, but it does not mean that He is not there, nor that you are not part of the family.
What resources can I recommend? I am sure there are lots of them, but I would say that central is regular prayer and reading the Word. As William Temple said: “When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don’t, they don’t.”
I have taken to an online daily prayer podcast site where much of the effort of preparation is done for you: Pray as you go. It is run by UK Jesuits, which is fairly Ignatian and ecumenical in character. And of course there is the ever faithful and regular Lent and Beyond which is brimming with resources and ideas. Prayer brings you an awareness of being in the Presence and keeps you in the zone open to communication.
As for learning to pray, I found Philip Yancey’s book on Prayer helpful for perspective, and for deepening it being part of a regular weekly prayer group is now part of life for me as well as a source of joy.
For those who are struggling, it is a challenge, but not being aware of anything happening does not mean that nothing is going on.
#1 DRLina – prayers for your recovery from Lyme’s.
I suppose the other thing which does have to be considered is that unacknowledged and unconfessed sin can create distance from God. He is holy and good. In the psalms evil is described as a stench in His nostrils and he does not abide it or with those who indulge it even as He never stops loving them.
If there is distance, it is worth considering if there is something which is getting in the way which has not been dealt with. That can include the sins of anger with others and of unforgiveness. The still small voice cannot be heard over that. God is a gentleman and will not intrude where He is not wanted or where has been rejected and turns his face away.
Even the Lord’s prayer may help with its general sweep up clause seeking forgiveness for trespasses we have committed as well as acknowledging our forgiveness of those who have trespassed against us.
If there is such an impediment it needs to be dealt with, and in part that may be what God is saying, even when He appears to be silent.
As the morning prayer says: O God, make clean our hearts within us and take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
I remember as a young adult being baffled that God seemed to have gone away. I shared this with a couple who were friends – he had been a Dominican, she had been a Carmelite – and their words stayed with me ever after. What they said, in effect, was that times of spiritual aridity were often times of spiritual growth. We all carry around with us images of God. These are good and useful. But they are also limiting, because no image of God can ever match the reality – no metaphor, no music, no art – so sometimes we have to let go of our limited understanding and continue in faith, that God will meet us on the other side of the dry patch and our understanding will be richer and deeper.
As for reading: it’s probably a bit cosmically mystical for readers of this site, but I get drawn back to Teilhard de Chardin Le Milieu Divin – the English edition kept the French title, in the U.S. it’s The Divine Milieu – with its vision of God to be found in all things and yet above all things.
[b]The Psalms[/b]. When I’ve been struggling the most spiritually I find that the Psalms speak to me the most. Reading a Psalm every day gives me “anchors” to hold onto from God’s Word, continual reminders of His love, faithfulness, mercy, mighty deeds throughout history, correction, His personal care for me. They remind me I can pour out my heart honestly to God, that I don’t have to hide (can’t hide!) from Him. Often I try to pick a verse of the day and make a point to call it to mind repeatedly throughout the day.
[b]Prayer with other believers[/b] I’m blessed to be part of a team that prays together 4 out of the 5 days of the workweek. Times when I’m spiritually dry those times of worship, devotions/Bible study and prayer with my team help me stay connected with God in spite of myself, when the Word seems dry & dead to me and I can’t feed myself. So often another teammate will share from a Scripture passage that I need to hear and which helps me turn my face again towards God.
[b]Spiritual Accountability[/b]: Honestly admitting my struggles to another trusted mentor / pastor / spiritual counselor has usually been important in spiritual renewal. They can ask helpful questions, speak truth into my life that I might not face up to on my own (i.e. need for confession & repentance). They provide an outside perspective that I might not be able to see if my emotions are clouding my view & thoughts. But it can be hard to take this step and be this vulnerable when you’re in a bad place. Obviously it helps if there is already a good accountability relationship and trust in place during times of spiritual growth so as to make confession & self examination and openness to correction easier in times of struggle.
Thank you for the prayers. Much needed.
Speaking of prayers, the Orthodox teach us to try to keep the phrase, “Lord, have mercy,” and it’s various variations, running through our minds and thus into our hearts. Once I learned that the Greek, eleison, was more encompassing than at least my ideas of mercy, I often use the Greek. I am also working on “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.”