Matthew 13:33
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
Meditation can be compared to the rising of the dough, letting the Life of the Resurrection Spirit of Yeshua move within us, for awakening, for revelation.
Colossians 3:17
And everything whatever you do, either what you say or what work you do, do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
With each introductory seminar and presentation about the Prayer of the Lamb that I make, I continue to learn, as the old maxim goes regarding learning by teaching. This is not just learning about how to present the Prayer of the Lamb to others, but it is more about discovering new aspects and applications of the Prayer of the Lamb, discovering more of its great depth of spiritual truth and illumination.
It has now been a year since the first introductory seminar about the Prayer of the Lamb, and in that year’s time there have been 9 full seminars of 8 hours each in Washington and Idaho, 3 follow up Community of the Lamb 12 week groups, and 9 other different presentations in the form of retreats, adult education classes and forums, and the first reunion Supper of the Lamb eucharist. This summer the presentations and gatherings continue, and the fall schedule is already filling up.
I am as surprised as anyone at the continuing interest displayed regarding finding a form of spiritual practice that is outwardly focused while also inwardly transforming. With the Prayer of the Lamb the outward focus is in the service and ministry of interceding for the needs of the world, while at the same time offering the inward benefit of healing and transformation for the open heart. But the main element of the effective potency of this spiritual practice is in its setting in community.
Jesus said, “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” [Matthew 18:19-20] What if we were to take that statement seriously and trust that this might be so? This implies that gathering in community would not only be a good idea, it would be our planned strategy for making an impact, for being faithful disciples, for realizing greater good. But for two persons, the minimum size for a community, to ask in that Holy Name for mercy for the world, there needs to be agreement. That is why when we gather as the Community of the Lamb praying, “Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us,” we all use the same words, the same form of the prayer. We have a shared understanding of meaning and context of this prayer in baptismal identity. We have a common practice. We are on the same path.
So it should be evident that praying in this way is more effective than in a gathered group in which each person in prays or meditates differently from every other person. This is not to say that each person’s prayers and intentions are not valuable, but that when there is the shared intention and shared practice, there is greater purity in the asking and greater potency for transformation. What comes evident to me in this is the significance of shared practice. That means that I take care not to diffuse this meditational prayer practice with other styles of prayer practice. I do not make a sampling of various prayer or meditation techniques or practices, coming up with an eclectic mixture attractive to my particular tastes or interests, or even my felt needs. What I have been learning is the deep truth of committing to one particular practice and finding much greater realization, awareness and illumination that way, than I would from being a spiritual dabbler, knowing many practices some, but none well.
I share this with you as encouragement in your own practice of the Prayer of the Lamb. As I say during the introductory seminars, this is not a prayer to try out once to learn what it is about. This is a prayer that produces its fruit over sustained use over sustained time and with the support of a community. But the fruit that comes is worth the practice. That is the nature of embarking on a spiritual path. Happy trails.
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