Centering Prayer: 20 in the Afternoon

Make space in your heart and mind to draw close to God in the quiet, with 20 minutes of silence to help center the rest of your day. 

Whether you're needing a simple pause or deepening an established contemplative practice, this guided 20-minute time of Centering Prayer offers a moment of peace that resonates long after the silence ends. This meditation is designed for a busy afternoon, but can be practiced anytime. Pause with Whitney, choose your sacred word, and be with God today, in every breath. 

Transcript

Welcome to Exploring Peace Meditations

Speaker 1 0:01

Hi, I'm Whitney and you're listening to Exploring Peace Meditations. Today's invitation invites us to settle into the quiet for 20 minutes of centering prayer, of being with God, of separating our minds from the earthly woes that are real and surrounding us often. So this time was designed to help you sit with me in your afternoon, to make space in your heart and mind, to draw close to God in the quiet. If 20 minutes feels like a long time, scroll back into previous episodes of the podcast and you'll find silence as short as 5 minutes. If you're ready to begin today, I hope you'll find a seated posture. Let your spine be tall, let your shoulders fall away from your ears, notice your breath and listen to these words from Julian of Norwich we are made exactly as God wants us to be. Exactly as God wants us to be. We only need to lift our minds above earth's empty sorrows so that we can rejoice in the divine joy.

Guided Silent Meditation Begins

Speaker 1 1:38

As we pause this afternoon, what's a word that you could hold on to in the silence to be your anchor? Might it be joy, hope, breathe. Take a moment, invite a word into your heart or mind to be your anchor today, the word you come back to when your mind wanders in the quiet. If a word doesn't feel right, let your breath be your anchor. Today, I often use the reminder I am breathing in, I am breathing out, I am breathing out. So let's pray, pause and be together now. Creator, god, thank you for breath and life. Be with us as we pause this afternoon. Draw us close in the quiet. No-transcript no-transcript.

Coming Back to Breath

Closing Prayer and Farewell

Speaker 1 13:41

no-transcript the Thank you I'm going to take a few more minutes. Thank you, I'm going to take a few more minutes. Notice your next inhalation and exhalation. Creator, God, we give thanks for breath and life and all that comes with it. Be with us as we continue our day. Remind us that you are near. In your holy name we pray Amen. It's an honor to journey with you and explore the gift of God's peace. I'd love to know you beyond this time of meditating together. You can find more at ExploringPeacecom slash community and you can find me my books at WhitneyRSimpsoncom. Until next time, may God's peace be with you. You.