Spiritual Practice - Down to the River to Pray
If any of you is thirsty, come to Me and drink. If you believe in Me, the Hebrew Scriptures say that rivers of living water will flow from within you. Jesus was referring to the realities of life in the Spirit made available to everyone who believes in Him. (John 7:38,39 The Voice)
The Spirit of God is like a river flowing through our lives yet we rarely think about what that river could look like. For some it is like a fast rushing mountain stream, for others like a slowly meandering river moving across a delta towards the sea.
What is your response.
Sit quietly for a moment imagining the Spirit of God flowing through your life. What imagery comes to mind? Do you think of a mountain stream, fast running but small, or of a broad, majestic river meandering across the plain?
Imagine yourself pausing to drink from that stream. The waters refresh and renew, they pour life into your body. How does that make you feel?
Rivers begin in the mountains, tiny rushing streams that cascade down mountainsides, and shoot rapidly through gorges in a hurry to get to the sea. Then they meet another stream, and then another. Their waters mingle, slow down, coalescing into a river that meanders across the plain where cities spring up to draw from its life giving waters. Now the movement is less urgent and less defined. Then the bursts its bank, makes new channels, some loops are cut off forming small peaceful lakes or billabongs, tranquil places for wildlife to rest and recuperate. If left unchecked, the flood waters spread out across the delta, depositing its heavy load of silt across the farmland with rich nourishing life for the crops that are grown and for the birds and animals that enjoy its abundance.
What is your response?
Imagine the seasons of God’s movement in your life.
Are there times that you have felt the Spirit of God, a newly formed river, rushing through you like a mountain torrent? Write those down and reflect on their impact in your life.
Are there times when you have seen your stream mingle in community with others, your waters blending as they flow downstream together to create a wide river beside which still others can gather to draw life giving water? Write these down and reflect on their impact.
Are there times when the waters of God have overflowed your banks spreading nourishment across the food that we eat and the wildlife that surrounds us? Write these down and reflect on their impact.
We humans love to confine the path of a river. We straighten out its curves, pave its banks and build levies to confine the flood waters as in the photo above which is obviously a man made canal (in the city of Amsterdam) rather than a river – take note of how different it is from the God created rivers.
We humans also pollute rivers with industrial waste so that we can no longer drink straight from their banks. The life giving silt meant to spread out and fertilize the land, flows out into the sea, its nutrients lost forever and so we apply artificial fertilizers to make up for the lack. When floods come they burst through the levies with devastating results, destroying homes, farms and livelihoods.
What is your response.
Where have you tried to confine the Spirit’s flow in your life and that of your community? What has been the impact? What is one thing you could do to change that?
Where have you wanted to drink from the waters of God’s stream but found them to be polluted? Where does that pollution come from? Have you tried to “feed” the river of life within you with artificial fertilizers that do damage to your life as well as feeding it? Is there one thing you could do to change that?
As you listen to Down in the River to Pray, take note of each of the river photos and imagine the twists and turns of the river from its source to the sea. What part of the river are you in now?
Sit in silence at the end of the song and allow God to speak to you. Is there any further response you feel you should make?
Let the River Flow
Let the Spirit of God,
run through your life.
Like a river meandering toward the sea,
let it twine through your life,
with unexpected twists and turns.
Don’t confine its banks
Or pollute its waters
Let its living waters flow,
Pure and fresh and clean.
Drink from them.
Share them,
Refresh yourself.
Nourish others.
Journey together with God.