Guided Meditation #2: Deep Calls to Deep
“Deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfall. All your breakers and waves have rolled over me.”
(Psalm 42:7)
If I am still and present to my own breathing, and my inner being, I recognize a deep longing within just waiting to be expressed, to be birthed into the world. This longing itself is prayer flowing from the heart of God who has set eternity in the heart of all humanity.
When I’m honest, I see that this longing and desire for deeper connection or contentment or purpose sometimes sends me searching for relief somewhere other than in the Divine presence. I release these false starts into the tender grace of God. Now, as I stop to listen to my longing, it turns me utterly, wholeheartedly, fiercely toward God. I lean in and listen for the Spirit who helps me in my weakness when I don’t know how to pray, and that very Spirit intercedes “with sighs too deep for words.”
I come to seek and listen by spending a few minutes calming my mind. I focus on a simple prayer word: Welcome, peace, breathe, presence.
When I feel ready, I meditate on the words of Psalm 42:7 at the top of this meditation. I read these words slowly, silently. I read it a second and third time. Each time I read I open my mind and heart a little more to this image.
I approach the image of the waterfall from a distant path. I hear the roar of the fall before I can see it. As I come closer, the path bends and in the clearing I now see the falls. I stop to take in this vision. What do I notice, what do I hear? I walk closer and begin to feel the vibrations of the falling water through the earth. I feel the mist and move to the edge of the fall, letting the water wash over me until I am hidden in the falls. I move through the stream to the back side of the fall where a cleft in the rock shelters me. I am safe here even as all my senses are utterly surrounded and engulfed by the waterfall. I rest in this safety for a moment.
I shift my prayer of imagination to thoughts of God in this image and experience of the waterfall. I bring my body, emotions, thoughts into this deep call within me. What is it that I am longing for most deeply at this moment? For what does my heart cry out?
How does God respond to my longing? How do I respond? What fears journey with me as I contemplate being fully consumed, embraced, given over to the Divine Spirit? Talk to God about any resistance.
As I am ready, I bring my awareness back to your present environment and take a few deep breaths. I end my time in gratitude.
What is the gift you receive in this prayer of longing to take with you into your ordinary day?
