#120 S4 EP 30: Rich Lewis's Guide to Embracing Silence for Divine Connection

Michael is not here today with us , but we do have a guest who's going to be co -hosting with me today , and we're going to be talking about a powerful , powerful topic in regard to prayer and silence . Amen . With the world that we live in , everything is so busy and just loud and it's noisy .

This is , I believe , is just a perfect thing , a perfect topic that needs to be talked about and how we can incorporate this into our everyday life . Amen . So , before he comes in , before we go any further , y'all know what we must do . Amen . We got to go to the Lord in prayer . So , father , we thank you so much for your grace and your mercy .

Thank you , god , for allowing us yet another day to see what we realize . It was given to us and not promised . We pray God as we go into this conversation . It will be all that you desire it to be . We pray God as we go into this conversation . It will be all that you desire it to be .

I pray , god , that you will bless this man of God , bless myself , bless every hearer that is here that we all might be listening for your voice and for what you have to say . We turn this time over to you , god , that you will have your way in it . In Jesus Christ's name , we do pray , amen , amen , rich .

So y'all please say hello to him , as he will say hello to you . Thank you so much for being here , sir .

People think of prayer as verbal prayer or chanting or singing , and this is where we're just sitting with God . In fact , my book that came out a couple years ago is called Sitting With God Journey to your True Self Through Centering Prayer .

So really , I just hope to share with people another way to complement their prayer practice , where you just sit with God and open to the presence and actions of God within us .

We don't believe we're God , but God is within us , waiting to be expressed into the world , and I believe within us is our true self , the person God wants us to be , the actions God wants us to take . So that's really what I'm all about .

I'm about a practice that can complement your prayer life and help you connect to the person God wants you to be and then , more importantly , begin moving forward on this person .

And then , in late 2013 , I read a book by Amos Smith called Healing the Divide Recovering Christianity's Mystic Roots , and in his book he talked about a practice he'd been doing for 15 , 20 years up until that point , called Centering Prayer , and that just piqued my interest because I didn't know how to sit in the silence .

How do you do this without wanting to get up or making it feel like it's an eternity ? So it's Amazon's fault . I found it in a book by Amos Smith and began trying it for myself , began reading other books by other authors that talked about centering prayer and , more obviously , more importantly , I tried it for myself .

And then I just reached out to Amos and we began a back and forth dialogue and then really to this day , our friends , which is kind of neat how it worked out or friends , which is kind of neat how it worked out .

One of them , william Menager , was reading an old classic book from the 12th century called the Cloud of Unknowing and as he read it , kind of a method of wordless silent prayer seemed to jump off of the pages as he read . So he began sharing it with the other two priests .

They began practicing it themselves , they began rolling it out to ordinary people and I'll share how you do the practice as well . And then about 10 years later , in 1984 , the Contemplative Outreach Organization was created , which is really like the main Centering Prayer organization .

So it's contemplativeoutreachorg and you can go there and see a ton of resources on Centering Prayer . You can see groups practicing in the US and outside of the US as well . You can see retreats , events and different things like that . So that's all I just wanted to at least share that .

It was kind of started by three Trappist monks and then kind of started being shared with everybody it's not just meant for people in ministry and then kind of the larger organization created about 10 years later , in 1984 . And how you do the practice ? And Centering Prayer is really considered . It is considered meditation , but it's more than meditation .

It's considered deepening our relationship with God . Because during Centering Prayer , we believe we're opening to the presence and actions of God within us during this time and we believe we're sitting with God and opening to this beautiful , wonderful presence that loves us .

And how you do the practice is you sit comfortably with your eyes closed and then , to begin your practice interiorly , you introduce what we call a sacred word . It's usually one or two syllables .

It could be God , it could be Jesus , it could be a color , and that signifies that this is your special time to sit with God and your opening to God's presence within .

When you begin engaging your thoughts and what I mean by that is when you begin thinking about what you're going to do after your sit and the errands you're going to run and the things you need to do you realize you're now no longer sitting with God . You're sitting with you and your thoughts and planning .

So you reintroduce that word interiorly to come back to the present moment and come back to God and then let go of the sacred word , because the whole idea is just to sit with God and by ourselves as much as possible , not our thoughts and our planning .

So whenever you begin engaging your thoughts , you just use your word to come back to God and then let go of the word itself , and that's how you do the practice for however long you're planning on sitting , whether it's five minutes or 10 minutes or 20 minutes .

So that's kind of a quick history of centering prayer , how long it's been around and how you do it , and then really , what we believe it is is that it's just a sit with God and opening to the presence and actions of God within . I think of it as a reverse prayer .

We're letting God pray in us for what God knows we need , whether that might be inner peace or calm , whether it might be an inner nudge to do something that God wants you to do in the future .

You know what I mean , because we go to church and we go and we do all of the right things and we do the things that are expected of us . But who really stops long enough to say Jesus , say God , you know long enough for him to do something ?

In the midst of confusion or the midst of you know , where you just like , everything is just like , and you're trying to calm down and you intentionally just say stop and say , okay , god , do whatever . you know that rarely that doesn't happen that often and I just believe that it's something that's important to God .

You know what comes behind this , being intentional about this from your perspective and what you've seen over the years .

So what comes out of it is kind of the actions that god wants us to take and the things that we should be doing , rather than us just getting up and going . It's a time of going with within and and letting God pray in us and then even kind of reflecting upon it . You know , outside of your center and prayer sit , how do you feel ?

What inner nudges do you have and are these from God ? And are these things I should be doing and actions I should be taking ? So I think everybody , just it's a habit you get up and go instead of how about just sit with God for a moment and ask God to pray in you and show you what do I need to do today ? What do I need to do in a year ?

What do I need to do in five or 10 years ? Instead of just letting life run us , let God run us , so to speak .

So can you give a personal , like a personal testimony , um , of what has come out of you doing it yourself , something that would , um , would I don't know the word I'm looking for , but it would , uh , bless every diamond that is here , maybe something that was negative that , because of centered prayer , turned into something positive ?

Centering Prayer . So pre-Centering Prayer one , the idea of having a website Silenced Teachers wasn't even on the radar screen . The idea of jumping on a podcast and sharing the idea of slowing down and sitting with God was not on the radar screen . Writing a book and getting it published and sharing it that way was not on the radar screen .

Some of the speaking that I do and the one-on-one coaching , but none of that was on the radar screen . So now it is because of Centering Prayer , because I stopped , I sat with God and then I said what do you want me to do ? And the first answer was you need a website silencecheachescom .

And then I said okay , and then the next thing was well , what else do I need to do ? And I kind of let the website evolve into not just a weekly email meditation that goes off to do coaching , to ask people if they want me to speak at their church or in front of their group . To write a book and share it with people who might read it .

To go on podcasts and talk and share it with hosts and the guests that listen to your shows . So it spurred all that and because none of that was on the radar screen . Ten years ago , if you had asked me are you going to do all this , I would have said I don't know what you're talking about .

So if I , if , like you know , as I said a little bit earlier , connects you to your true self , so and the actions you should take , so you kind of let go of who you are not and become who you are and what God wants you , what , what God wants you to what God wants you to do .

So the fruits for me have been , you know , to trust God , to to be more present , present with life and the present moment and what I should be doing . To be more present with people and listen better to people instead of being so quick to critique or so quick to just talk , and and give people the space they deserve to listen .

And then really just a lot more confidence , because I know it's , I think of it as I sit with God and then I get up and walk with God and partner with God in life . So I have a whole lot more confidence because it's not me doing it , it's God and I moving forward in life .

So it's produced some neat fruits of excitement and confidence and knowing that I'm doing what God wants me to do and I think anyone that tries this type of practice , as they do this practice daily , weekly , monthly , for years , they're going to notice , well , how has it changed them as a person and what fruits has it kind of produced within their lives ?

Right , I love that answer and I think really the main point is it connects them to their true self . It connects you to the person God wants you to be , which doesn't have an end point . As long as we're here on this earth , we want to take the actions God wants us to take . So it connects us to this person and helps us take action on this person .

We're partnering with God , we're just . I sit with God and walk with God is the way I think about it .

We're asking God what to do and you know we are reading the word and all of that , but at the end of the day , what it boils down to is trusting his direction , you know , trusting who he's shaping you to be , trusting that , no matter the circumstance , you're still a diamond , amen .

So I think that sometimes we get out of the way , sometimes we can get away from God's way , and then we think that no longer does he love us or he won't forgive us or whatever have you ? And my point is is that once a child of God , always a child of God , and the thing that will bring you closer to him is prayer , spending time with him .

And I just again , I just think this is a powerful thing that you're sharing , the message that you're spreading about the power that is within , being quiet and listening and responding to God , not the demands of this world , not even yourself even , but to God alone . We can make such a powerful impact for the kingdom if we get in relationship with him .

You have any thoughts ?

I'm just saying try silent , wordless prayer . I have a free e-book on my website when you subscribe , to help you learn what is the centering prayer and how do you do it .

And then , if they want to further explore it , the book is my book , sitting With God A Journey to your True Self Through Centering Prayer , is on my website so they can see it right there as well . But it's available really on most online website retailers Amazon , target , barnes , noble and tons of online web places that you can get books .

And it's available internationally as well . And the neat thing is , when it came out in 2020 , half of my sales were actually out of the US , which was really exciting to know . It wasn't just in the US being read , it was being read outside .

So that's a little bit about me Silenceteachescom , the free e-book on the website , and then the book itself if they want to further explore . You know what is this Centering Prayer ? How do you do it , how does it connect you to your true self ?

Because I just share my journey in the book and share how you know how I started and how it has healed and transformed me . A lot of that's in the book and I have a chapter on . I thought it was important just to talk about Jesus , of course . So there's a chapter on Jesus in the book . And what historically do they know about Jesus ?

The scholars tell us about Jesus . I thought it'd be fun to put that in one of the chapters as well . So it's just a fun book for new people as well as people that already practice Centering Prayer but want to go deeper in their practice . So I think all that is in the book and I think people will find it helpful .

So I just found a kind of a neat book to help enrich your life and really let God speak through scripture to you . So that's kind of really what he's getting at is let your reading of scripture you know astonish you , let God astonish you with what you're reading and open to the power of it .

You know the scripture is is your life map , and he was going to speak to you through it . Um , until you are trusting him wholeheartedly , it'll remain a puzzle to you , you know ?

And um , when you take the word of God and you take prayer , centering prayer , um , and you put those things , those two together , you are going to walk in power , you're going to walk in that authority , you're going to walk in that dominion that he's given you . You know what I mean .

You are not going to be able to write books and be effective and do podcasts and be effective and do all that you're doing with effectiveness if you're trying to do it without the one who made it . You know what I mean . Does that make sense to you ?

What words shimmer from what I've just read ? What are you trying to share with me today , god ? It's just so powerful .

When you take your time , you can slow down and be able to receive it . What he's saying to you ? Um , today we have focused on centering your prayers and , um , rich , we are so glad that you came , and you came and you shared everything that you're doing with us .

Can you give our audience a final message for today and what God has given you to give them ?

So make it the first thing you do and for 30 days just start your day with a one to five-minute sit with God and then do your other ways of praying as well , but try just sitting with God and letting God pray in you and you get out of the way and after 30 days see if it's something that resonates with you and you want to continue in some way or

another . But take a daily dose of silence , and it's not really just a dose of silence is . Take the time just to sit and be with God .

I think we were going through the book of Romans , I think . And then , and , and . At the end of every um broadcast , he would have me to invite people to do just what you're talking about , and I had no idea it was called sinner prayer , sinner prayer .

But in it he said you know , just slow down in the morning time , rather than running and jumping up out of the bed , just slow down , stop and say God , good morning , what is it that you have me to do today ? You know , I had no idea it was called sin and prayer , but you know the way that God speaks .

He speaks in such a way that you can understand it Amen , hallelujah . And it's like you're not crazy . You're not crazy . God told you to do something . You know somebody else might call it something else , but God told you to do it . Amen , that is your relationship with him and he's going to speak to you in a way that's unique to you .

He's going to speak in a way that you can understand it because , again , I never heard it called centered prayer . You said it's been around for 50 years , never heard it called that , but god told me to do that . Yeah , and the young lady I just interviewed , she didn't call it that . She called it self-care a moment to uh , reset , that's what she called it .

Self-care , a moment to reset , that's what she called it . So I mean I'm a firm believer . When we are all in the kingdom of God , we're all saying the same thing . We're doing it in different ways , but we're saying the same thing . That makes sense . Amen , Hallelujah . So .

So rich . Would you do me a favor and pray us out of our conversation on today ? There was a little bit of a I'm sorry , pray can you pray with the internet I'm sorry , I don't know what is up with the internet , but can you pray uh for everyone as we get ready to sure uh go out of here please sure , sure , jesus , this is I , I , god .

And I simply pray that your listeners can take a moment each day to sit with God , open to this beautiful loving presence within us that loves us , and then kind of get up from our sits and take the actions infused by the Holy Spirit . I pray this was something helpful for your listeners and it will stop in Jesus' name , amen , amen .