In golf, the sweet spot is where the club hits the ball on the spot for which it was intended; where the greatest transfer of energy is going to occur between the club and the ball. Can prayer also have a sweet spot? Yes, when natural, unforced efforts produce powerful results; where God-given passions intersect with an experience of God. What comes to your mind?
Can prayer also have a sweet spot? Yes, when natural, unforced efforts produce powerful results
Because prayer adapts to the circumstances of life, someone may paint to pray. God is vivid in the colors and through the process of expression. Another sings in the choir, where sacred music connects their soul to God.
Perhaps you have been praying for years, just not in the way expected. In her book, Organic God: Lenten Meditations on the Words of Jesus, author Kate Moorehead says,
Christ is the vine, living within us, then our life of prayer can grow as a vine grows…If a vine can grow over, under, around, and through the many objects it encounters, so Christ can relate to us in many and varied ways.”
The vine can grow in so many circumstances. The question becomes, in what ways does your heart most naturally hear, listen, and respond to God?
in what ways does your heart most naturally hear, listen, and respond to God?
- Singing to God in the shower?
- Spontaneous conversation In the car?
- In time spent journalling?
- Walking in nature?
- Providing hands on service to others?
- Listening to music?
- Unplanned silence?
- Through scripture reflection and centering prayer?
- Wandering through a museum and witnessing the light of God in paintings?
- Walking a labyrinth?
During Lent, create opportunities that nurture and encourage your sweet spot with God. Christ is as versatile as the vine, growing into our hearts almost imperceptibly, finding his way into the core of our being, waiting for us to notice that he has been there all along.