Weekly Practices
Weekly Practice 5/11/26
Make every effort to do or reflect upon this week’s practice with others.
Scriptures
Luke 1:26-38 NLT
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Acts 1:14 NLT
They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.
Practice
Say “Yes”
Mary knew what saying “yes” to God meant. When told she has been handpicked to be the Messiah’s mom, she assents: “I’m God’s servant. Bring it on.” And here she is after the ascent of her son, still saying “yes” to his Kingdom Come. It’s hard to imagine another individual who has had their life so thoroughly defined by their “yes” to God.
This week, be like Mary. Say “yes” to God. As you’ve spent time in examen prayer this last week, what have you noticed about your life? Your soul? Do you sense God inviting you to anything? Something to take up? Something to lay down? Something to return to? If you need to spend more time listening, do it. Leaning towards God, wherever you are, is a “yes.”
Accompanying soundtrack
These songs by Jess Ray are perfect for this week:
Weekly Practice 5/4/26
Make every effort to do or reflect upon this week’s practice with others.
Scriptures
1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Psalm 48 NIV
Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
Beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King.
God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.
When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,
they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror.
Trembling seized them there,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
shattered by an east wind.
As we have heard,
so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
forever.
Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.
Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.
Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,
consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
to the next generation.
For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end.
Poem
“XLVIII Magnus Dominus” by Malcolm Guite
For heaven’s king has made the earth his home
Not just the hill of Sion, but the whole
Round world. Call him from anywhere, he’ll
Come to you and make his dwelling. Hail
Him in any language, he replies
In your own mother-tongue. For now your soul
Is his true Sion, and each day you rise
Already in the city of your God.
So mark the towers and temples, and apprise
Again the beauty of your new abode.
Your soul is greater than you ever knew:
Walk round its walls, then take the holy road
That winds towards its centre, where the new
Temple of his spirit shines and stands,
Where Christ himself is there to welcome you.
Practice
Examen
This is not a new practice for us, prayerfully going back a day, a week, or further, to notice where we sense ourselves moving towards and away from God’s love. But what if we examen with the mindset that we ourselves are God’s temple? You and me—and us together—we are the place God’s Spirit dwells.
This week, imagine yourself “walking around” your soul and your story, seeing yourself as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Begin by asking God to fill you with a greater awareness of his presence within you. Allow him to guide your mind, and pay particular attention to moments when you have experienced his love. Talk with him about what you notice. Then end by entrusting yourself—your living, breathing Zion-self—back into his care.
Accompanying soundtrack
Like a match made in heaven.
Weekly Practice 4/27/26
Make every effort to do or reflect upon this week’s practice with others.
Scripture
Psalm 62 MSG
God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I need comes from him,
so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I’m set for life.
How long will you gang up on me?
How long will you run with the bullies?
There’s nothing to you, any of you—
rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters,
Anthills plotting to bring down mountains,
far gone in make-believe.
You talk a good line,
but every “blessing” breathes a curse.
God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I hope for comes from him,
so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I’m set for life.
My help and glory are in God
—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—
So trust him absolutely, people;
lay your lives on the line for him.
God is a safe place to be.
Man as such is smoke,
woman as such, a mirage.
Put them together, they’re nothing;
two times nothing is nothing.
And a windfall, if it comes—
don’t make too much of it.
God said this once and for all;
how many times
Have I heard it repeated?
“Strength comes
Straight from God.”
Love to you, Lord God!
You pay a fair wage for a good day’s work!
Practice
“Lean In”
We’re not in a hurry. Let’s continue to wait and wonder at what God might have for us in the coming season. We know we are meant to live as people of the Kingdom. We know we are called to partner with the Holy Spirit. Only God knows the specifics of how. Let’s do our best to keep our eyes and ears on him.
This week, ask God to show you what he desires for you in this next season, and keep leaning into the practices that you’re already doing: