TAIZÉ

Commented Bible Passages

 
These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.

JPEG - 134.8 kb

2024

March

Romans 8:26-28 Seeking renewal in prayer
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches our hearts, knows what the Spirit intends, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with God’s will.

Doesn’t praying mean shirking one’s responsibilities and taking refuge in the peace and quiet of a church for a pleasant spiritual break? Isn’t it more "Christian" to get involved in some kind of action for solidarity in the service of others? Prayer can make a real difference in the world. Not because prayer is a way of convincing God to do what I ask, but because it changes those who pray.

Prayer, in all its forms, is an encounter. Whether it’s praise, intercession or silent prayer, it brings us into relationship with God. But despite our faith, often we don’t know how to pray. Words fail us, or silence becomes arid and we get bored. Saint Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit comes to help us. The Spirit prays for us, prays in us. In other words, our prayer is as much God’s business as it is ours!

The Spirit of whom Saint Paul speaks, the Spirit who prays for us, is the breath of God himself. God is the one who makes human beings, molded from the earth, into living beings (Gn 2:7). It is also the Spirit by whom God created the world, not just "in the beginning" (Gen 1:2), but even today. Believing that prayer matters begins by believing that God’s Spirit is always at work in the world, and that that Spirit is also at work in me. By virtue of being created, I have a relationship with the Creator, who desires life.
In prayer, our first task is to identify the work of the Spirit within us. This is easier said than done. What exactly are we listening to, when we are silent within ourselves? My moods, my emotions, my own thoughts? Doesn’t prayer become an introspection that makes us turn in on ourselves? Outside our relationship with God, there is indeed this risk. But if we believe that God’s Spirit creates life in us, prayer becomes a place to welcome and listen to the Life within myself, in my depths, that doesn’t come from me, but comes to me through an Other. So what should we be attentive to?

The Spirit of God, the creator of life, speaks the language of life. The Spirit has no other place to make himself heard than our humanity. The Spirit speaks through our bodies, our thoughts, our inner movements, our affections, our desires. The Spirit invites us to live fully. He invites us to love as God loves us. He gives us courage, strength and hope. He soothes and consoles. He energizes and makes us enthusiastic in the truest sense of the term. Spiritual tradition calls all this "consolation". When I pray with the Word of God, I listen to what moves me, how the Word touches me. We can also pray with our lives, paying attention to the inner movements that everyday events produce, and then asking ourselves: where and when do I feel truly alive? By always being attentive to consolation, it can become a compass that helps us direct our choices towards the Life of God. In prayer, we gradually discover how God would like to use our hands, our eyes, our heart, our ability to love—in short, our whole person living in the world—to be present there. Thanks to prayer, our commitments and our service will become places where our lives become in tune with the life of God.

In the Gospel, Jesus invites his disciples to rest with him (Mk 6:30-32). But this is with a view to being sent out again into the world to serve and proclaim the good news. Prayer is not an escape from our responsibilities. On the contrary, it’s the resource we need to root our responsibilities in faith and in God. Our prayer doesn’t change God, but God changes us. So, for those who love God, all things contribute to their good.

- How do I understand the link between faith/prayer and everyday life? How does faith become concrete in my daily life?
- Can I give an example of a situation in which God spoke to me, guided me? How did I recognize that it was from God?
- What does prayer mean to me? How do I pray today? Has my prayer changed over time?



Other bible meditations:

Last updated: 1 March 2024