The Welcoming Prayer
Many who practice Centering Prayer have discovered the transformative power of the Welcoming Prayer, using the body as our first spiritual director. Have you heard of it? It’s more than a practice - it’s an invitation to radical trust in Divine Presence within our embodied experience.
The body is the best spiritual director you’ll ever have because it never lies. Unlike our thoughts and emotions, our bodies tell the truth of what’s really going on. That’s why the Welcoming Prayer is a body-based practice, not just a mental exercise.
The truth is we never have a thought without a corresponding emotion and a corresponding body sensation. The Welcoming Prayer teaches us to consent to God’s presence in our real, messy human experience. As Fr. Thomas Keating put it, “The promise is that we are developing our capacity … to forgive, show compassion, respect everyone, and experience oneness.” This is an invitation not to “transcend” our humanity, but to fully embrace it.
Three Sacred Movements
This practice unfolds in three movements:
Feel and Sink-In to what’s happening in your body.
Welcome Divine Presence and Action in the midst of whatever is arising
Let Go, releasing the desire for security, affection, control, and embracing the moment as it is.
It’s not about making difficulties disappear – it’s about saying yes to God’s presence within them. Want to bring your prayer more actively into your daily life? Frustration, anger, anxiety? Notice your body sensations and, without having to understand them, just welcome them, then let them go to God. The practice can animate and refresh every moment and event with the joy of letting go and letting God.
