STEP ELEVEN

We sought through prayer and meditation
to improve our conscious contact with
God as Jesus understood Him,
praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out.

  • Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
    where there is hatred, let me sow love;
    where there is injury, pardon;
    where there is doubt, faith;
    where there is despair, hope;
    where there is darkness, light;
    where there is sadness, joy.

    O divine Master, grant that I
    may not so much seek
    to be consoled as to console,
    to be understood as to understand,
    to be loved as to love.

    For it is in giving that we receive,
    it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
    and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
    Amen.

    SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

DIRECTION

  • Ask God to help you become more aware of what you’re thinking through the day. What am I thinking right now? What am I feeling? What am I doing?14

    Sit quietly for five minutes.
    Make sure there are no distractions. No cell phone.

    Close your eyes.

    Notice what thoughts come up. Don’t force yourself to think about any topic in particular. Don’t try to change or control your thoughts. Most importantly, don’t judge your thoughts. Just be curious. Notice them the way you would listen to the thoughts that a good friend might tell you about.

    Notice if any of them are accompanied by a physical sensation—your brow furrows, or your teeth clench, or your shoulders hunch.

    You are not trying to solve any problems or figure anything out. The goal of this exercise is simply to discover how many thoughts you have in a short time and how disconnected and repetitive and unimportant and unhelpful many of them are.

    Then throughout the day, while you’re engaged in some activity—reading or working or talking or eating—try to pay attention to every movement that you make for five minutes: Crossing or uncrossing your legs. Clearing your throat. Scratching your skin. Yawning. Adjusting your posture. Fidgeting. Frowning.

    Noticing our bodies can help us become aware of what is in our minds.

    Father Facts

    Work on setting before your mind the three “Father Facts”

    1. God is able.

    2. God is here.

    3. God is good.

  • Take a few moments to meditate on Psalm 46:10. Do this slowly, one line at a time. Begin by being still, calming your face and relaxing your body and placing your mind in conscious awareness of God’s presence. Approach him with confidence. When distracting thoughts arise, don’t be discouraged; simply note them and bring your mind back to God. Remember that these words are God speaking to you. Notice the thoughts and feelings that emerge for you.

    Be still, and know that I am God.
    Be still, and know that I am.
    Be still, and know.
    Be still.
    Be.

    Before finishing, ask if there is any thought that arises from this time where God is calling you to respond. If there is, make the commitment to do so.

  • Improving our conscious contact with God is not simply a matter of being aware of the present moment as a stress-reduction technique. The focus of our prayer is for the knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out.

    Put another way, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive your- selves. Do what it says.” This has been summarized in a single, simple, elegant phrase: do the next right thing.


    Reflect on this question: What is the next right thing for me to do?

Encouraging quotes and scripture

  • Colossians 3:2

    • “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”​

    Isaiah 26:3

    • “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”​

    Psalm 16:8

    • “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”​

    Matthew 6:11

    • “Give us this day our daily bread.”​

    Jeremiah 29:13-14

    • “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.”​

    James 1:22

    • “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”​

  • Saint John of the Cross

    • “Human health consists in the conscious awareness of God.”​

    Dallas Willard

    • “The mind is the most significant aspect of our lives because it is only through our minds that we make effective contact with reality.”​

    Jeffrey Schwartz & Rebecca Gladding

    • “At its core, mindfulness is about awareness—being fully knowledgeable that something is happening right now, in this very moment.”​

    Henri Nouwen

    • On the challenge of being still: “I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me—naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken. . . . Everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something. But that is not all. As soon as I decide to stay in my solitude, confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies and weird associations jump about in my mind like monkeys in a banana tree.”​

    Dr. Paul Tournier

    • “There is a vital difference between prayer and introspection. In introspection, we are talking to ourselves and thinking about ourselves. It is mindless prayer.”​

    Dallas Willard

    • “The picture of prayer that emerges from the life and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels is quite clear. Basically, it is one of asking, requesting things from God.”​

    Rick Warren

    • “Meditating on Scripture generates life, creates faith, and provides guidance. It makes the foolish wise, the faltering strong, and the discouraged hopeful. It is the first book to read to a little child and the last best book to read to a dying person. It is so simple and yet so deep that the early church fathers and mothers said a gnat could swim in it, but an elephant could drown in it. It corrects the erring, inspires the daring, encourages the despairing, and humbles the overbearing. Reading the Bible honors God and worries the devil. It reminds the lonely that they have love for this life and heaven in the next. When you are on your deathbed, there is no other book that will speak to you the words that this one will.”​

    William Cope Moyers

    • On a moment of grace: “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”​

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  • What practices or habits help you maintain a consistent awareness of God’s presence in your daily life?

    How do you currently approach prayer and meditation as a way to center yourself and communicate with God?

    Is there an area in your life where you know you need to "do the next right thing"?

    What obstacles in your life might you need to overcome to prioritize prayer and meditation?

Pray for each other to close.

Continue to Step Twelve!