Lanecia A. Rouse
For use with devozine meditations for February 20–26, 2012. Print-Friendly Version
MAKING THE CONNECTION
God! My God! It’s you—
I search for you!
My whole being thirsts for you!
My body desires you
in a dry and tired land,
no water anywhere.
Psalm 63:1 (CEB)
“When I was a teenager, the words of Psalm 63:1 were my heart's song. Pages of my high school journals were filled with meditations on Psalm 63:1. As a youth, I was longing to connect with God. Reading my journals, I imagine that a healthy understanding of the spiritual practice of fasting and prayer could have been life-giving and would have provided me with an opportunity for rest, focus, and perspective in a competing social narrative of gluttony, consumerism, and busyness.
“We are story people. As followers of Christ, we have been grafted into a story that shapes the way we see, process, and respond to life. But our faith story is not the only story we can choose; it is not the only story with the power to shape our being and doing in the world. Every day we will be shaped by some narrative, but we have a choice about who or what will write the story.
“Spiritual practices provide space for us to tap into the author of all creation so that the story of our faith may be the narrative that gives shape to our lives. We can easily fool ourselves into believing that we are our own creators and that God is not our creator, sustainer, and provider. Fasting is a spiritual practice of removing distractions and resting in prayer. It creates space for our lives to be formed by divine love and for us to remember that God is God and we are not.
“Today, I have a better understanding of fasting and prayer, which is the spiritual practice I embrace during Lent—though not always with delight or ease. (I seriously struggle with denying myself much of anything if I have access to it). However, when I faithfully practice the discipline of fasting and prayer, I always find that something new is born in my relationship with God and I grow deeper in connection with the author of life.” —Lanecia
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless
until they find their rest in thee.” —Saint Augustine
MEET THE WRITER
Lanecia A. Rouse is my name. I am beloved. I receive most of my days trying to discover the implications of this reality as I live in the tension of “the already but not yet” with people living on and off of the downtown streets of Houston, Texas, on the campus of St. John's Downtown. I am an artist (photographer, painter, musician, and writer).
I grew up in South Carolina. My father was a pastor, my mother an artist. My days in South Carolina shaped my understanding of how powerful art and love can be in the process of healing, creating social change, and serving others. After graduating from Wofford College and Duke Divinity School, I served in local churches in South Carolina, England, Tennessee, and now in Houston, Texas.
I am currently serving as the Project Manager of The Art Project, Houston, a therapeutic art and socially proactive business program of the Bread of Life, Inc. Before moving to Houston in March 2011, I served in youth ministry for thirteen years, most recently with the brilliant, bursting, beautiful youth of Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
STUFF YOU WILL NEED
- a candle and matches
- a Bible
- scrap paper
- pencils or pens
- 8” x 10” canvas boards or stretched canvas
- acrylic paints
- brushes (two different sizes for each person)
- paper towels
- cups for water
- paper plates to use as paint palettes
- plastic forks, spoons, and knives (they make great splatter paint tools ☺)
- old magazines (or pre-cut images and words to prevent the magazines from being a distraction) Some great magazines for this experience are devozine, Alive Now, and Relevant.
- scissors
- butcher paper, old newspapers, or plastic to cover tables for the activity
- centering music and something to play it on
- copies of Psalm 63:1–8 (CEB)
PLUGGED IN
Fasting and prayer has deep roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition. For generations, it has been one of the spiritual practices Christians have embraced as a means of connecting with God. The two go together. One can pray without fasting; but for Christians, there is no fasting without prayer. Through this practice, we give our souls and bodies a deep spiritual cleansing, which draws us closer to God as we deny ourselves and become more in tune with God's rhythm and desire for our lives.
Lauren F. Winner points out in her book, Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline (page 90):
Fasting is to be, as St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote, “a perfect quieting of all our impulses, fleshly and spiritual.” Fasting is not meant to drag us down, but to still us. It is not meant to distract us from the really real, but rather to silence us so that we can hear things as they most truly are.
Practicing self-control and abiding within self-imposed limits open the door for the Holy Spirit to do the work of re-creation. We remember that we are utterly reliant on God for all things, as the practice speaks truth to lies that shape us to believe otherwise. Fasting and prayer reminds us that we are created to be in communion with God and that we need God. God is the living water that never dries up and is forever the bread of life.
When we speak of fasting and prayer with youth, we need to remember that our culture has a distorted view of food and the body. Unfortunately, fasting with the wrong intentions or without truly understanding this spiritual practice may enable some people to nurture or develop eating disorders. Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens is a great resource for helping you frame the conversation in ways that affirm the body and express the importance of having a good relationship with food.
You know your group. If you prayerfully discern that inviting them into a practice of fasting from food could be harmful, guide them in fasting from other things: technology, shopping, gossip, makeup, video games, magazines, movies. In this way, fasting creates more time to be in communion with God through creativity, writing, fellowship with friends, mission, and meditation on the Scriptures.
Learn more about the spiritual practice of fasting and prayer with these resources:
+ Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Disciple, Lauren F. Winner
+ The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, Dallas Willard
+ Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens, Dorothy Bass, Don C. Richter
+ The Sacred Way, Tony Jones
+ Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
+ "The Discipline of Fasting," Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Church USA
+ Check out the stories of Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Dorothy Day—contemporary faith leaders who embraced fasting and prayer as a way to live for hope, justice, faith, and love. Many films and writings tell about their lives. You may want to use their stories as a way of introducing the lesson or showing the connection between spiritual disciplines and faith in action.
CHECKING IN
A great daily practice is to be in prayer for those you are called to lead and for the ministry in which you share. Pray for the members of your group, for your time together, and for the life of your church community.
When people arrive, greet them. Invite them to share a meal or to play a game. Then bring them together in a circle.
Place in the center of the circle a lighted candle to signify Christ's presence. Then invite everyone to answer these questions:
What over the past week was difficult for you?
What over the past week gave you joy and life?
After everyone has had a chance to speak, remind the group that God wants us to have life and to experience joy. Encourage your community to be more intentional about doing things that bring life and letting go of things that are draining.
Pray: “Thank you, God, for creating an opportunity for us to gather in community. Thank you for moments that bring us life and joy and for the ways you are present in our lives when we experience moments of pain. Help us to give you the attention of our hearts, minds, and souls; to let go of all that pulls us away from you; and to cling to your unconditional love. Amen.”
EXPLORING THE WORD
Scripture: Luke 4:1–12
Say: “Fasting and prayer is a spiritual practice that generations of Jews and Christians have embraced. Jesus found fasting and prayer important to living the life of faith. He encouraged his disciples to fast and pray often. The Gospel of Luke reminds us that Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days in the desert.”
Read aloud Luke 4:1–12. Then ask:
According to Luke, what did fasting and praying in the desert for forty days do for Jesus?
After people respond, say: “I’m sure Jesus was physically weak and hungry for food, but spiritually he was stronger and able to withstand temptation that would draw him away from God.”
Read or explain in your own words the following three paragraphs:
Fasting and praying is not always easy or fun. If you fast, you will feel the loss. But fasting and prayer will help you to focus on what is important in your life and to grow deeper in your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The loss experienced through fasting is filled with prayerful communication with God.
Fasting has many forms. (Encourage the group to think of some of the ways they can fast.) Prayer also has many forms. When you fast and begin to crave whatever you have denied yourself, you may choose to offer a spoken prayer or you may focus on another spiritual practice, such as writing in a journal, reading scripture, serving, enjoying the fellowship of Christian friends.
What you fast from and how you pray during the fast is up to you. The importance of the spiritual discipline is in letting go of something on which you depend, to remember that you are dependent on God for all things, and to reflect with God on what is most important in your life.
Distribute scrap paper and pens. Ask people to write answers to these two questions:
What do I need to let go of, to fast from, to create more space for connecting with God?
What am I longing for in my relationship with God?
Invite people to create prayer boards on canvas. Provide acrylic paints and a variety of images cut from magazines. Instruct people to choose paint and images that will help them express their longing for God so that their prayer board will be a tangible reminder to center themselves in prayer as they fast.
Next, distribute 8” x10” canvas boards. Ask everyone to draw a circle or a heart on the canvas and then to paint around it. Encourage people to have fun with the area around the circle or heart, using the other art supplies you have available. They can use plastic forks, spoons, or knives or a paintbrush to splatter paint around it. (The paint splatters best when it is watered down a bit.) Or they may want to use a paper towel to rub the paint down, creating a worn or washed-out look for the background. Encourage free expression. Allow 8–10 minutes for people to create the background. Play quiet music as they work.
Then invite people to use the images they have chosen to create a collage in the center of the circle or heart. The collage will express the deepest longings of their hearts, what they are yearning for in their relationship with God. They may cut or tear the pictures so that they fit in the circle or heart; and they can use the paint as glue to stick the images to the canvas. Allow 10–15 minutes for people to complete their collages.
Bring group members together to talk about their prayer boards. Ask people to show their artwork and, if they are willing, to tell in one sentence the prayer it is expressing. Explain that as they present their work, you will be writing down their prayers so that during Lent, or during the fasting period, you may join them in prayer.
When everyone has presented, thank people for expressing their prayers. Then say: “All spiritual practices are easier when we do them in community. There is strength in community support and accountability. As we fast, let's remember to pray with one another and to encourage one another.”
SHARING IN PRAYER
Invite people to sit in a circle, and distribute copies of Psalm 63:1–8 (CEB). Then pass the lighted Christ candle around the circle. As each person holds the candle, invite him or her to answer this question:
Where did you see or hear God in our time together tonight?
After everyone has spoken, offer words of thanksgiving. Then invite everyone to join you in praying Psalm 63:1–8 (CEB):
God! My God! It's you—
I search for you!
My whole being thirsts for you!
My body desires you
in a dry and tired land,
no water anywhere.
Yes, I have seen you in the sanctuary;
I've seen your power and glory.
My lips praise you
because your faithful love
is better than life itself!
So I will bless you as long as I'm alive;
I will lift up my hands in your name.
I'm fully satisfied—
as with a rich dinner.
My mouth speaks praise
with joy on my lips—
whenever I ponder you on my bed,
whenever I meditate on you
in the middle of the night—
because you've been a help to me
and I shout for joy in the protection
of your wings.
My whole being clings to you;
your strong hand upholds me.
Conclude the psalm by praying: “Thank you, God, for meeting us in our places of need. Amen.”
TAKING IT FURTHER
- Encourage people to engage in the spiritual practice of fasting and prayer during Lent. After Easter, invite those who did to talk about what they learned as well as the struggles and delights they experienced.
- If your group is interested in learning more about spiritual practices, offer a book study using Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens by Dorothy Bass and Don C. Richter or another resource that can help them explore ways of growing in their relationship with God. The free online Way to Live Leader’s Guide will help you to facilitate the study.
