What is Spiritual Direction?

Who Might Benefit from Receiving Direction with Listening Prayer

A spiritual director friend of mine describes the practice of direction as helping men and women notice where God is in their lives and how He is at work. God cares deeply and intimately about us and wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives.

Spiritual direction provides continual opportunities for us to know and receive the love of God. From how we pray to our choices and decisions about work, what we think and feel about Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit to challenges in our significant relationships, God cares about it all!

He welcomes and awaits the questions, doubts, joys and hardships we experience.

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Is 30:18a, 19b *

My spiritual direction course trained me in what is called a contemplative model. For as long as I can remember, listening to God has always been an important part of my relationship with Him. Incorporating listening prayer into my work with directees flows from my experience with Him, and plays a vital role in our time together.

Recently I met with a couple to talk and pray about their future. To maintain their confidentiality I’ll call them Sam and Sally. After listening and talking about their plans for themselves and their young family, we took time to pray. As we waited and listened for what the Holy Spirit might want to share, I sensed something for Sally.

I spoke of the Lord showing me that Sally’s anxiety and struggle with disciplining her daughter might be related to her experience as a child with her own parents. We prayed and asked God to bring more clarity and understanding.

Sally realized she had made a vow to never be like her mother or father, especially the harsh, strict way they treated her during her childhood. We spoke of the importance of turning away from such proclamations. In prayer Sally broke her agreement with this vow. I then prayed for her to open her heart, welcoming God’s blessing of her forthright, decisive personality.

I asked Sam to pray and bless his wife. His heartfelt and beautiful prayer affirming and thanking God for Sally brought us all to tears. We talked of the wonderful way God had led our time. We then closed our meeting with prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving, as well as protection and prayer for Him to seal and deepen all He had done for Sam and Sally and their family.

During a meeting with a woman I’ll call Julie she spoke of anxiety she had lived with for much of her life. “When I get busy and have a full schedule, even if they are fun activities, I become fixated on how I will manage, how I can possibly do everything. Then I feel myself wanting to check out, to isolate and disengage from friends and my commitments.

As we began to pray I asked her when she first remembers feeling this way. I sensed her feelings and response to them started at a young age. Tears fell as she spoke of having leukemia from age 3-5 and going to the hospital to receive treatment.

“After my treatment I would come home and spend hours alone in my dark room watching TV. I wanted to forget, to escape the pain, trauma and fear. This went on for years.”

I asked her if she could ask Jesus where He was during this time. More tears came and she spoke of seeing Him come into her room, sit down and take her into His lap. As His arms wrapped around her, the aloneness and anxiety left. Jesus love, comfort and peace filled her and brought a deep rest.

Julie thanked Jesus for being with her, for healing her and helping her through that difficult time. She asked for His grace and presence to be with her. She invited Him to remind her how much He wants to help her navigate the times she feels anxious and overwhelmed in her life now.

Although she continues to face health issues, Julie more quickly turns to Jesus and others for help, prayer and comfort. Her trust and dependence on Him continues to deepen and grow.

I hope these examples give you an idea of how you might benefit from pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. Perhaps you are:

·       Navigating a hard situation in a significant relationship

·       Facing a major career or vocational decision

·       Becoming aware of how past experiences and hurts are impacting you now

·       Wanting and needing to know Jesus is with and for you

If you are dealing with these or other circumstances I hope you’ll consider arranging a time for us to meet and talk. Together we can listen and wait to give Jesus opportunity to come with all He has for you.

Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to Him. He grieves that we have forgotten Him. He longs for our presence. —A wise man.

* This song speaks the truth of God’s love and care directly to our hearts. Before You Call, Daphne Rademaker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M96o7KETZEU