Listening Prayer

A Workshop Presented by Jin Rood

On the opening night of the conference, Jin shared a slide-show presentation of famous artwork. She encouraged attendees to use the visuals, accompanied by piano music played by Theo Simpson, to meditate on an aspect of God’s creativity, beauty, and glory.

In her workshop the following day, Jin continued the theme of visual meditation, saying, “It provided steps that can take us deeper to a heart level.” She called this process Immanuel Journalling. Music ​by Simon Wester accompanied Jin’s presentation throughout, which she said was to help keep distractions at bay​ and foster​ a sense of calm​.

Jin explained, “Healing is found not in the absence of pain but in the presence of Immanuel. It is designed to help you intimately interact with God, who is glad to be with you and capable of helping you. Immanuel Journalling quiets our inner logic, voices, and general left-brain chatter. It attunes us to God’s emotions, thoughts, and words.​“   

Jin presented the processes for Immanuel Journalling, which were interactive gratitude, thought rhyming, and community. In Interactive Gratitude, Jin explained, “You let God respond to you as you tell Him you are grateful.” In Thought Rhyming, she said, “The Lord wants to hold your face close to His; there He puts His impressions on your heart.” In Community, Jin encouraged the attendees to “Read your interaction aloud with God to someone you trusted.”

Immanuel Journalling involves five steps: imagine God seeing your situation; hearing all your thoughts; validating your experience with compassion; then lovingly and simply enjoying being with you. Lastly, imagine God assuring you that He has the power to help you and give you everything you need. 

Jin encouraged attendees to use their imagination but clarified that God wants to interact with us through scripture. A key takeaway from the workshop was how much God delights in us and that He wants us to know and rejoice in this. ​These doable practices are a wonderful invitation for those who would like to deepen their friendship with God and learn to experience that they are God’s beloved.

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