Aug 22, 2020

260 He Began To Be In Need, A Guided Christian Meditation on Luke 15:11-14 with the Recenter With Christ app

I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina:

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.

Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Bible verses for Meditation:

Luke 15:11-14

NRSV
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.

NLT
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

Meditation on Scripture:

There are times in our lives when we can grow distant from God. We can allow the allure of our world to draw us to pride or indifference to the value God offers. The is a simple grandeur of the life God calls us to and yet at times we lose sight of it. We lose sight of the promises he offers. We set our hearts on the wrong things.

Each one of us also knows other people who are not prioritizing God in their lives like they have in the past. Sometimes that person is us. Out of concern we wonder where their hearts are at.

Then in a moment of clarity you realize an emptiness. A feeling of purposelessness and loneliness. We begin to realize our want, our need before God. The worry of our mind can lead us through anxious paths. That is not the way back to the Father. He offers more. Later in this scripture, the young man remembers what his father has to offer and decides to return. The real question is how do we respond to the same feelings. What is your need before God? What is the most important thing you need in your life right now?

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Updates:

Final Question: In what way are you most in need before God right now?

Final Thought: What does it mean for God to hear you and know your need? What is the difference between what you think you need and what you actually need? Many times we determine what our true needs are only to realize that we missed the mark. We may squander possibilities before us. Yet that is not how God will treat us. When we bring our hearts back to Him, He will always embrace us as we return but the road back may be dusty and long until we feel His embrace. I invite you to reach out to your loving father regarding your needs, your true needs, then do what he asks you.

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