What is Centering Prayer?

Batesville Presbyterian Church will host an Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop on April 14, the Saturday after Easter, from 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. The cost of $45 includes the one day workshop, a guide book, light lunch, and the opportunity for a 6 week follow up class for those who are interested. So what is centering prayer?

Centering Prayer is a method of prayer, which prepares us to receive the gift of God's presence, traditionally called contemplative prayer. It consists of responding to the Spirit of Christ by consenting to God’s presence and action within. It furthers the development of contemplative prayer by quieting our faculties to cooperate with the gift of God’s presence.

Centering Prayer facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer — verbal, mental or affective prayer — into a receptive prayer of resting in God. It emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God. At the same time, it is a discipline to foster and serve this relationship by a regular, daily practice of prayer. It is Trinitarian in its source, Christ-centered in its focus, and ecclesial in its effects; that is, it builds communities of faith.