In this episode, Fr. Murchadh Ó Madagáin, author of Centering Prayer and the Healing of the Unconscious takes us on a deep dive into the practice of centering prayer. Specifically he addresses a question that often comes his way, "Is centering prayer a truly Christian practice?" The answer is "Yes." Listen in and discover a rich prayer practice that has deep roots in the church and one that can help you grow deeper into the grace and love of God.
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The process of surrender in centering prayer is critical to the taming of our need for control. When we pray, we commit to sitting in solitude with God. This is a form of self-denial. Recall Jesus’ summary of the essence of discipleship: “If any want to come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and continually follow me” (Matt 16:24 cf. Mark 8:34 Luke 9:27). The focus of discipleship is on consciously following Jesus. Jesus’ words in Matt 16:24 serve ably as a model for centering prayer.
Intending the Things of God
In Matt 16:21, Jesus had laid out the necessity of his journey to Jerusalem. There Jesus would experience suffering, death, but also resurrection. In response to this revelation (16:22), Peter attempted to rebuke Jesus by saying, “May this never happen, Lord!” Jesus responded to Peter with “Get behind me Satan. For you have not set your mind on the things of God but on the things of humanity.” In other words, Peter struggled because he assumed that his plans, desires, and will should govern the actions of Jesus his Lord.
This is not to say that our goals and ideas have no value. As we live in the world, we will continually take decisions and actions. But the process of growth in grace involves removing the idolatry and injustice out of our decisions. The challenge of the spiritual life is that, when we learn about the mind of Christ, we discover that our truest humanity resides in living fully as the person whom God created us to be. The irony is that we are often the greatest impediment to our growth. Our false self attempts to block access to discovering who we are at the deepest level.
To set our mind on the things of humanity means that it is our will and talents that remain in control of our destiny. It is the full flourishing of our flesh apart from reliance on the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 8:1–17).
To set our minds on the things of God involves realigning continually with the will of God. Our guide is Jesus. Centering prayer allows us to practice this ongoing surrender of the will.
Invitation to Surrender
16:24 begins with an invitation: “If anyone wishes to come after me….” Jesus calls would be followers to set an intention. Decide and commit to go in the way of Jesus. Jesus calls us to a person–the Son of God. When we take the decision to sit in solitude, we are answering the call of Jesus.
What does this intention or decision involve? It involves surrender to a new mode of being. In centering prayer we do not set the agenda. In fact there is no agenda. The moment we seek one we have gone the way of Peter and set our mind on the ways of humanity.
Centering Prayer and the Meaning of Surrender
What does surrender look like? Jesus uses three phrases in 16:24: deny self, take up cross, and continually follow me.
Deny self. This is not merely a call to a disciplined life involving deprivation. It is more radical. To deny self means to orient fully to the way of Jesus so that the cross shapes our goals, desires, rights, and privileges. In centering prayer, this means a steadfast recognition that my stray thoughts, emotional baggage, and even brilliant insights must give way to being present with God.
Take up the cross. In the ancient world, the cross was a terrifying symbol. Crucifixion was gruesome, humiliating, and meant certain death. To take up one’s cross meant literally lifting the wood upon which one would soon die and walking under its weight to the place of your death. A person taking up the cross was a dead man or woman walking. In solitude, we come to God empty handed in the surrendered posture of one whose life is over. This frees us from both past and future in order to be with God in the moment.
Continually follow me. If the first two phrases involve a letting go of one’s rights, privileges, past, and future, Jesus’ final phrase points to the pathway for the present. Disciples follow Jesus moment by moment. This was true during Jesus’ earthly ministry. It remained true for the Christians to whom Matthew was writing in the first century. Jesus’ words are still vital for us in the 21st century. Discipleship involves a deep ongoing relationship with Jesus. This is why Jesus came to earth. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is Immanuel “God with us” (1:23). In Matt 18:20, Jesus promises, “For where there are two or three gathered in my name, there I am in their midst.” In Matthew 28:20b, the risen Jesus declares, “Behold, I myself am with you all the days until the end of the age.”
Centering Prayer and the Practice of Surrender
In prayer, denying self and taking up the cross serve as the means of purging our rights to ourselves. Whatever thoughts, feelings, desires, dreams, goals, visions, triumphant memories, or nightmarish recollections arise in solitude, we surrender them and continually follow Jesus. This means using our prayer word to realign ourselves with our Lord.
Imagine yourself taking a walk with Jesus. He leads you down a path. You hear birds singing so you look up for a moment. You then turn your gaze back to Jesus. Then you get an idea for a project at work followed by a worry that you don’t have enough time to accomplish your goals for the day. You catch yourself and again return to the master. A few moments later you reach a point in the path that triggers a painful memory of great loss. Yet again you turn to Jesus. Martin Luther’s dictum comes to mind in this process: “You can’t prevent a bird from landing in your tree but you don’t have to allow it to build a nest.”
Recognize that the process of centering prayer is to continually return to the Lord. Period. Thoughts are thoughts. Feelings are feelings. Memories are memories. The call to discipleship challenges us to turn away from self and follow Jesus. This is the way of prayer too. The question is trust: Do I trust God enough to release my attachments to whatever the hamster wheel inside my head offers up?
Merton writes on the need for continual surrender, “to have a will that is always ready to fold back within itself and draw all the powers of the soul down from its deepest center to rest in silent expectancy for the coming of God, poised in tranquil and effortless concentration upon the point of my dependence on him;…”
There is a dynamic tension between surrender and our role in the surrender. Merton’s words capture it well. It is not that our will disappears. Our will remains. Its intentions have become aligned with the divine will. The Lord’s prayer becomes reality in our inner world, “on earth [in me] as it is in heaven.”
In fact, the process of recentering is the critical discipline that opens us up to God’s presence and grace. There is no contemplative moments apart from the our conscious return to God every time that we find ourselves lost in a stream of thoughts. This is how souls are made. It is a moment by moment journey.
The classic advice from Thomas Keating and Cynthia Bourgeault on managing our stream of thoughts in Centering Prayer is this:
Resist no thought.
Retain no thought.
React to no thought.
Return ever so gently to the sacred word.
These “Four R’s” are full of wisdom. They remind us of the core principle of centering prayer–the surrender of our thoughts and our return to the intention to sit in silence before God. We cannot control our thoughts. They may be beautiful; they may be embarrassing; they may be random. Regardless, when we recognize that they’ve grabbed our attention, we release them and return to the silence with our sacred word.
Resist no thought.
Recognize that we spend most of our days lost in loops of thought. Our minds bounce endlessly from one thought to another. Buddhists call this the “monkey mind.” To practice centering prayer does not mean fighting against thinking. The goal is not to erase our minds. This is impossible. You will likely have hundreds if not thousands of thoughts during a centering prayer session. The key is recognizing when this happens and surrendering it. This leads to the next “R”.
Retain no thought.
In centering prayer, we release our thoughts whenever we find ourselves paying attention to one. This is easy if it’s a random thought about dinner or about a bug buzzing in your ear. However, if you generate a helpful solution to a problem you’ve struggled with, it is harder to let go. But let go we must. Good or bad or neutral–we surrender each thought and return to the silence.
React to no thought.
Thoughts are just thoughts. We have little control of what moves into our conscious mind. You may encounter beautiful thoughts or disturbing ones. A painful memory may emerge from the depths of your soul. You may get caught up in a fantasy. Regardless the practice centering prayer involves our commitment to make no judgments regarding our thoughts. Instead, we release them to God.
Return ever so gently to the sacred word.
The elegance of centering prayer is its simplicity. It’s all about our intention to spend time with God in silence. The sacred word serves as a means of breaking our attention to thoughts, words, images, and feelings so that we can return to the silence.
To learn more about centering prayer, check out this brief video introduction: Centering Prayer: the Basics
Psalms 51–72 offer a Davidic core at the heart of Books II–III. Most of the psalms include “Of David” or are untitled except for Ps 72 (“of Solomon”). Ps 72 concludes with “The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended” (72:20). Moreover, eight of these psalms (Pss 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, and 63) include in the heading references to challenges in David’s life from the books of Samuel. By linking psalms to difficult episodes in David’s life, the Psalms remind us that even godly kings such as David still faced challenging seasons. As we seek to live out God’s missional in the world, we must recognize that this commitment will not translate into a worry free or storm less life. For the next two weeks, we will explore these Davidic prayers as models for our own during times of need.
We begin with one of the most well known psalms from Book II: Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is a penitential prayer (prayer for forgiveness). The others are Pss 6, 32, 38, 102, 130, and 143.
Ps 51 is a model prayer of repentance, sorrow, restoration and renewal. In 2 Samuel 11–12, David sinned greatly, but turned wholeheartedly to the LORD. Israel’s great king committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheba. Then after Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child, he ordered her husband Uriah murdered. The words in Ps 51 attempt to capture the spirit of his prayer as a model for all God’s people on how to pray when we have sinned. It serves as a reminder of the grave burden and consequences of sin, but also of the great mercy of God.
God desires for us to walk faithfully in love of God and neighbor, but when we do sin, God invites us to pray. As Jesus’ followers, we have this promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The psalmist cuts to the heart of the matter in vv. 1–2: Ps 51 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 Have
mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to
your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
There are no excuses, hedging, or nuances in the psalmist’s words. He opens immediately with a request for God’s mercy and grace. The psalmist can pray boldly because he knows God’s character. He bases his request on God’s faithful love and abundant compassion. These are God’s core characteristics. The psalmist recognizes his guilt and uncleanness before God. God is his only hope. Verse two imagines sin and transgression as a filthy contamination that needs to be cleansed in the same way that dirty cloths must be washed.
The opening verses of Psalm 51 may remind readers of the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:13, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” This was a prayer that Jesus affirmed as one that God answers. So it will be with those who pray Ps 51. How do verses 1–2 teach us about praying to God for forgiveness? What are areas in your life for which you need to ask for God’s mercy and grace? Now let's look at the rest of Psalm 51: 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
The psalmist’s remaining prayer breaks up into three sections: vv. 3–9, 10–17, and 18–19.
Verses 3–5 summarizes the psalmist’s sorrow. There are no excuses—just confession of guilt. The psalmist does not attempt to hide wrongdoing, but admits that they are ever present burdens (v. 3). Moreover, the psalmist recognizes that these sins are against God. Yes, when we sin, we hurt others and ourselves, but our sins are ultimately against our loving Creator (v. 4). It is to God we will answer. The psalmist ends this section with a categorical confession of lostness (v. 5). His recent failures are recurring patterns. He has been trapped in sinful cycles since conception. The psalmist recognizes his inability to save himself. There is only one solution: the mercy, grace, and unfailing love of God. Often God’s greatest work begins on the ruin of our lives when we turn to him fully.
In verses 6–8, the psalmist again requests cleansing. The psalmist continues his view of his sinfulness as a stain that needed removed (cf. v. 2). The psalmist recognizes that his inner life does not line up with the expectations and will of God (v. 6). He asks for God’s cleansing (v. 7) so that he can return to a life of joy and fulfillment. Sin will weary us. We must be sensitive to our need for God’s grace and turn to the LORD whenever we stray from God’s ways.
Verses 9–17 focus on specific for renewal and include vows of actions that the restored psalmist will take. Verses 9–12 lyrically capture the heart and passion of this prayer. The link to David is powerful. The great king has sinned and the stakes are sky high. David throws himself fully into the arms of God knowing that only God can restore him. He wants his sins and inquity removed (v. 9), but more importantly he wants his moment by moment relationship with God to be healed (vv. 10–12). This requires a work beginning in his inner core—his heart. Remember that heart refers to the will, intentions, and thinking center of a person.
In verses 13–17, the psalmist vows to teach others the way of the LORD and to confess publicly the praise of God. Experiences of God’s grace must always be spread and shared with others. Moreover, v. 17 reminds us of the posture with which we must approach God. Confession must be authentic. The psalmist is shattered by his sin. He approaches God not with sacrifices, but by freely admitting brokenness and lostness.
Psalm 51 concludes with a prayer that moves beyond the sorrowful psalmist to include blessings for Jerusalem/Zion (vv. 18–19). This is a reminder that our prayers must move beyond ourselves. Sin is subtle. It continually attempts to guide us into a deeper sense of individual entitlement and self-centered focus. The mark of the truly repentant in part is the ability to pray beyond our personal needs for the good of the community around us.
How specifically does Psalm 51 teach you to pray when you have sinned?
Describe how the psalmist understands restoration, renewal, and forgiveness.
Preparing our Hearts and Minds: Conversations
with Scripture (Intro)
We must learn to read the Bible for transformation. As we seek
to follow Jesus into the world on mission, Scripture serves as our interactive
guide for the journey. We may think of it as a map to the life of God’s dreams.
Yet unlike directions that seek to guide us to a particular geographical
location, the Bible's goal is to shape us into the kind of persons that God
created us to be. The journey of faith involves growth in our missional
activity, personal holiness, and community. The Bible desires to convert us to
its perspective and propel us into the world as witnesses to New Creation.
To read and study Scripture in this manner
involves learning to adopt and practice a set of postures before it:
1) Be open to hearing the voice of God and
being astonished. When we read Scripture, we are engaging a sacred
set of writings that the Church affirms as inspired by God and foundational for
our faith and practice. It is not enough to lift up Scripture as an
authoritative artifact from the past. We need to approach our reading and
reflection with an expectation of astonishment in the present moment. When
Scripture astonishes us personally, we are ready to live and move in ways that
will astonish the world with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. I find that
prayer helps me to enter into a space where I’m ready to receive all that God
has for me. Here is one that I’ve found helpful: “Lord, astonish me anew with
the riches and good news of your Word. Amen.”
2) Take the stance of a learner rather than
expert. There is an irony in our lifelong reading of
Scripture. Over time, texts become so familiar that we speed through them
assuming that we already know their message. This is dangerous to our spiritual
formation. It is therefore vital that we consciously avoid treating the text as
an object that we gain control over via study. The moment that we reckon
ourselves experts will mark the time when our voice becomes the authority
rather than God’s. Don’t pray, “Lord, help me to master this text.” Instead
assume the posture of a learner and say, “Lord, I open myself to hear all that
you have for me. Master me through my conversation with your Word.”
3) Embrace listening over demanding.
Our conversation with Scripture requires patient and persistent listening. We
cannot control the speed of illumination and insight. Some passages will
release their riches quickly and easily. Others will only do so slowly and with
difficulty. In either case, we must be willing to be fully present with God and
the text in a spirit of humility and dogged resilience. We cannot demand a word
from God; we can only receive one gratefully with open hands, hearts, and
minds. Remember the mark of the happy person in Psalm 1: “He or she meditates
on the Law of the LORD day and night” (1:3).
4) Align with the Text and Take Action.
To listen to Scripture involves realigning with its message continually. Our
conversation with Scripture must lead to tangible change and action. As James
reminds us, “But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive
themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like
those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on
going away, immediately forget what they were like” (James 1:22–24).
How do we become “doers”? We become “doers” by
taking action based on our reading. Here are some questions that help me (this
is not meant as an exhaustive list):
How does this text challenge my current way of
life as well as that of my community of faith?
How does this passage stand in tension with my
current thinking or understanding of the Gospel? Who or what is this text
calling me to care about?
What kind of person do I need to become to live
out this text?
How does my community need to shift to embody
this text?
We cannot treat this stage as merely
rhetorical. We need to write down or journal the key actions that we need to
take. Then, go out and live the Gospel for the world.
Thank you God for the gift of Scripture. Give
us the hearts and minds to listen and meditate on it so that we may encounter
you the Living Lord of the Text. Grant us the courage to dare to realign with
its message and live it out before a world that desperately needs its good
news. In Jesus’ name: Amen
Psalm 36 offers two ways of
life. The way of the wicked (36:1–4) and one rooted in the love of God
(36:5–9). These pathways stand in stark contrast. These contrasting portraits
of life exist side–by–side in our prayer without any transition between the
two. We’ve encountered the two ways in a couple of ways already during our
study. Pss 1 and 146 described the ways of the righteous and the ways of the
wicked. We’ve also see the voice of the psalmist through the lament psalms
claiming personal innocence and connection with God. Ps 36 enriches and deepens
these previous black and white modes of thinking. Ps 36 invites those who will
learn to pray it to take a look inside and decide whether to align with a life
rooted in self or with the expansive love of the LORD.
1 I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes.
2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. 3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. 4 Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.
5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 See how the evildoers lie fallen— thrown down, not able to rise! (NIV)
Verse 1 announces that the
psalmist has received a message from God. The psalmist shares the content of
this message in vv. 1–4. It is a description of what drives a persons to commit
sin. The vocabulary of sin and evil is rich in vv. 1–4. English translations
struggle to capture the nuances. The psalmist uses just about every Hebrew word
for sin available to paint a broad and jarring picture of life apart from
faithfulness and love.
Verse 1b roots sin in a lack of
fear or dread of God. What is lacking in the a person who
embraces the way of wickedness and rebellion is a sense of one’s place in
creation. We might say that the person needs a “reality check.” God does not
desire us to be terrified of him. Instead, we are to show a respect and
submission to God as ruler and judge of creation. The wicked live without
regard for any force, person, or power outside of themselves.
Verse 2 continues the
description. We find the second occurrence of “eyes.” This points to the cause
of sin. The wicked justify their actions apart from any external reference
point. We would call this being self-centered. The heart of sin is
living out of our own thoughts, plans, will, and talents. When we set our own
standards and are accountable only to ourselves, we lose the ability and
self-awareness to detect our brokenness and sinful desires. When this reality
manifests itself in the masses, chaos ensues as every individual act only out
of self-interest rather than in a way of life shaped by a love for God and
others.
Verses
3–4 focus on the mess created by unfiltered and unbridled self-will and
self-centeredness. There is a loss of wise living and speaking. A sense of the
common good is nowhere to be found. Their plans and intentions flow out of
their selfishness. This makes it impossible for them to walk in a good pathway.
If there is a choice for good or evil, they gravitate toward the way of
wickedness.
If verses 1–4 paint picture of
self-centered human ugliness, the portrait found in vv. 5–9 is stunning in its
description of the beauty and majesty of God. There are two ways of living
described in Psalm 36, but there is really no choice. Read through verses 5–9
again. The imagery is breath-taking. When we close our eyes and imagine how we
would describe a good and kind God, it would be a challenge to exceed the
wondrous description in these five verses.
First, the psalmist addresses
God personally as “LORD” for the initial time in this psalm. The
psalmist does not want us to forget that he is not talking some generic god. He
is talking about the LORD.
Then, the psalmist voices four
core attributes of God (vv. 5-6a): love, faithfulness, righteousness, and
justice. The stress is on the breadth and immensity of these. The LORD
possesses an immeasurable and limitless quantity of them. The God to whom we pray
acts out of a loyal love that is faithful to all of God’s commitments and
relationships. God always does the right thing at the right time every time.
These virtues and attributes describe the world that God is bringing about
through his mission. Notice the focus on relational qualities. Love,
faithfulness, righteousness, and justice all manifest themselves in
relationships between God and others. This is the exact opposite of the mode of
life of the wicked. Their focus is on self; the LORD’s focus is on good of
creation.
Verse 6b declares the full
implication of the LORD’s love, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice. Our
translation reads, “You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.” The word preserve
is more often translated save or deliver. The LORD is a god who
preserves and/or saves people and animals. God’s commitment to relational
wholeness means that God cares about people and animals.
This truth is life-giving.
“Unfailing love” is the same word as “love” in v. 5. This is the core dimension
of the God of Scripture. It is affirmed in both Old and New Testaments that God
is love (cf. Exod 34:6 and 1 John 4:16). Humanity can find true refuge and
protection in the “shadow of your wings.” This is a reference to the Jerusalem
temple. This does not mean that God’s protection is confined to one place. The
temple is a symbol of God’s refuge that is universally available to all who
know him.
Verses
8–9 emphasize the extravagant abundance available to those who seek refuge in
the LORD. The vocabulary invites us to imagine that we are feasting and
drinking at God’s table. The portions are endless and the very best that are
available. If the portrait of wickedness is dark and pointless, the abundance
of God is about life and light. The LORD is love. Life as God
intends is beautiful and rich. In John 10:10 Jesus puts it this way, “I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
The psalmist now reaches the
point of decision. Up to this point, Ps 36 has described two distinct and
contrasting ways of living.
Vv. 1–4 center life on
decisions and whims of each individual. In the world of verses 1–4, there is a
temptation to believe falsely that each man or woman can cut his or her own
path through the world as he or she pleases. This is the root of idolatry and
injustice. The biblical vision for authentic living flows out of a love for
God, people and all creation. In other words, life moves away from self to
focus on relationships. Sin and wickedness results from attempting to shape the
world to serve and please us. This is what self-centeredness mean. We attempt
to live as God. To work out of this framework is to work against the beautiful
and just world that God desires and is working to create.
Vv. 5–9 offer a robust and stunning counter-cultural
alternative to the way of the wicked. This way of life centers on the one true
God–the LORD. The LORD embodies and models relational wholeness by acting in
love, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice. God’s mission involves saving
and preserving all life. God offers all creation security in the present and
for all eternity.
So the question turns to us who pray Ps 36? In what mode of
living will we find our center? Is life all about us? Or does true life arise
out of a dynamic relationship with the LORD of Love, faithfulness,
righteousness, and justice? At some level this decision is obvious. But will we
consciously take this decision and align our lives with the LORD.
In verses 10–12 the psalmist models a prayer in favor of the
way of the LORD of Infinite Love. Verse 10 makes the psalmist choice clear. He
recognizes the LORD’s way and asks the LORD to continue to cause love and
righteousness to abound for those in relationship with the LORD. In other words,
he prays, “LORD, continue to be God of abundance that you revealed to me in vv.
5–9.”
This
is a counter-cultural choice and remains so today. It is risky to live freely
for the sake of others. To privilege a love for God and neighbor over the
self-centeredness of the modern (and ancient) world puts us into a position
where we can be hurt, used, or manipulated by those who choose the pathway of
self-will (vv. 1–4). This is the reason that Ps 36 shifts to a pray for
protection from the wicked in vv. 11–12. This is not a prayer against the
world as much as it is a prayer for those who desires to live a
self-giving life of love and justice in alignment with the character of God
(vv. 5–9) and modeled by Jesus in the Gospels. The goal of our witness is to invite
the world to experience this truest expression of human life.
