ego disappears.17 It portrays the Spirit as life-giving water that pours out over a thirsty land, like a stream that brings nourishment and growth to dry ground.18 It describes the Spirit as a lover that captivates,19 causing people to lose track of time and overwhelming them with wonder, adoration, and gratitude. It affirms that it is possible to dwell in the Spirit20 and that the Spirit can lift people up out of the mundane like a whirlwind carrying individuals through mystical visions into another reality.21
The Christian tradition teaches Jesus was so filled up with the Spirit that he became a Spirit-Man, both fully divine and fully human. John’s Gospel claims what was possible for Christ is also possible for Christ’s followers: “To all received him, who believed in this name, he gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). Just as Jesus became a Spirit-Man, other ordinary people can become spiritual human beings filled with the power of God and enlivened by that creative Spirit. For the Apostle Paul, living “in the Spirit” was the same as living “in Christ.”22 Throughout his letters, he interchangeably used the phrases “Spirit,” “Spirit of God,” and “Spirit of Christ.” He understood the presence of the Risen Christ to be the same as the Spirit of God. When the church dwelt in Christ, it could access the energy of the Spirit and live in the fullness of life.
The Bible described the activity of the Spirit as wind and breath: ruach (roo-ach) in Hebrew and pneuma (noo-ma) in Greek. The book of Genesis proclaimed that the Sacred Spirit had been present since the creation of the world when it swept over the waters like a wind.23 That wind-like energy was creative and life-giving but also unpredictable and uncontrollable. “The wind blows where it chooses,” Jesus told Nicodemus. “You hear the sound of it but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8a).
The book of Acts described the wind blowing through Jesus’ followers, taking away their fear and empowering them to speak with boldness. On Pentecost, the disciples were all together in one place when, suddenly, they heard a sound like the rush of a violent wind. It filled the whole house where they sat. Then flames of fire appeared among them and one flame rested on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability.24 The Spirit came upon the disciples unannounced and enabled them to communicate in a global context.
Centuries earlier, the prophet Joel had heard God speak of such a time when the power of the Spirit would be made available, not to just a few religious leaders, but to everyone.
“I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,” God told Joel.
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams
And your young men shall see visions
Even on the male and female slaves,
In those days, I will pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:28b-29)
The Spirit could not be contained in one nation’s customs or language; it had been set loose in the world and could be found everywhere, if people only had eyes to see it.
The second Creation Story described the Spirit as the breath of life. God breathed life into the nostrils of the adam (human) made from the adamah (humus) and that breath animated the dirt causing it to become a self-aware human being who could think, choose, and take action.25 The Psalmist expressed a common belief of ancient people:
When you take away their breath they die
And return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
And you renew the face of the ground. (Psalm 104: 29b-30)
For there to be life, the breath of the Spirit had to be present.
The book of Ezekiel told the story of a prophet who had a vision of a valley full of dry bones. God spoke to the bones through Ezekiel, “I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live” (Ezekiel 37:5b). God laid sinews on the bones and caused flesh to come upon them, but muscles and skin alone did not make for life. It was only when the breath entered the bodies that they lived.26 The breath – the ruach – was the life-force, the energy that caused them to become living human beings who could stand on their own two feet.27
In the Gospel of John we read that the disciples were holed up in a locked room after Jesus’ crucifixion because they were anxious. But Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Then he sent them out to continue the work God sent him to do.28 The breath enlivened them and allowed them to carry on Jesus’ ministry in the world.
The Spiritual Habit of Prayer
In transforming congregations a high percentage of individuals take time each day to engage in the ancient Christian practice of listening prayer. Listening prayer connects them with the empowering and enlivening Spirit. In Mark Nepo’s words, it allows them to still their own house and drop into the vital nature of things. It expands the eyes of their heart so that they can see the underlying oneness of all creation. It allows them to align their heart with the heart of God. It bonds them to a Spiritual energy that dispels anxiety and teaches them what it means to live as the authentic Self that is created in the divine image.
“I didn’t know how I would fit prayer into my life,” one young mother confessed, “but now I get up a half hour before the kids get up. When I take time to pray, it settles me down and gives me a sense of peace. That peace allows me to take on the challenges in the rest of the day without getting rattled by them. Prayer helps me tell the difference between the voice of God and all the other voices in my life. I wouldn’t trade my morning time for anything!”
Listening prayer comes in many forms including but not limited to:
1 PRAYING WITH THE IMAGINATION: Ignatius of Loyola encouraged Christians to enter into a Biblical passage and to use their senses to explore the scene. What does it look like? What sounds can you hear? What can you smell? What conversations do you overhear? What happens next? What do you do? What does the Spirit say to you as a result of your immersion in that place?
2 TRANSPOSING PRAYER: Augustine of Hippo taught Christians to transpose the words of a Biblical passage to their lives. For example, if the passage is about the “bent-over woman, the reader reflects on what or who is “bent over”—physically, spiritually, socially—in their world. They listen to Jesus saying to the woman (and to those situations in their own lives) “You are set free from your ailment.”29
3 LECTIO DIVINA (DIVINE READING): The Benedictine Tradition taught people how to read through a Biblical passage slowly, listening to the whole passage. Next, it encouraged them to read through it a second time, listening to the word or phrase that seems to speak directly to their own lives. Finally, it invited them to read it a third time, considering what action the phrase might be guiding them to take.
4 CENTERING PRAYER: A book by a 14th Century anonymous author entitled The Cloud of Unknowing taught a form of prayer in which a person sits in silence with eyes closed and focuses on one word or phrase of their choosing that invites the presence of the sacred Spirit.
5 CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER: Hildegard of Bingen and others taught Christians to focus on a scene or an object from creation, allowing it to reveal to them some aspect of God’s nature and purpose. (See Appendix B for a hand-out on the various forms of Listening Prayer.)30
However, it is not just individuals who engage in listening prayer in transforming congregations; the whole church corporately prays together in many different ways. Prayer keeps the congregation grounded in the power and presence of God. The church’s life together becomes a dialogue with God in which it tries to listen and respond to the leading of the Spirit. Prayer opens it up to wonder and gratitude for the gift of life. It gives the congregation time to be self-reflective, to notice what is going on instead of just plunging headlong through life unaware of the presence of the Holy in its midst.
In transforming congregations, leaders pray together weekly and the congregation prays every time it worships together. Prayers are spoken aloud by the pastor and lay people offer public prayer as well. Often there is a group within a transforming