Footsteps in PrayerA journey through the Bible

LEVITICUS

• Find a place to sit quietly.

• Sit in a relaxed position.

• Become aware of your feet on the floor.

• Starting with your legs moving up to your face and head, tense and relax your muscles.

• Come to a place of rest.

• Be aware of God’s loving eyes watching over you.

• You might like to ask God for the grace to be holy as he is holy

• You may like to listen to Voces 8 sing Agnus Dei or to Eden’s Bridge sing Sanctus.

• You might instead like to listen Keith Green sing Holy, Holy, Holy.

You might like to listen to:

Day 1: Third Day sing Offering then click here.

Day 2: Ola Djeilo’s Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory then click here.

Day 3: Michael Card sing Simeon’s Song then click here.

Day 4: Jonathan Viera sing O Love that will not let me go then click here.

Day 5: An acapella version of In Christ Alone then click here.

Day 6: Shane and Shane sing Holy, Holy, Holy then click here.

Day 7: The Sinach sing Waymaker then click here.

Day 1: Leviticus 2 Sacrifice: entering God’s presence  When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord. .

Read this passage from Leviticus 2. What words or phrases strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words or phrases that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.When you have finished click here to continue.

Minnesota Corn in Stained Glass Tom Nelson (Fair Use)

Day 2: Leviticus 9 Priesthood: entering God’s service Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.  Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Read this passage from Leviticus 9. What words or phrases strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words or phrases that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.When you have finished click here to continue.

Fire Dreaming by Ronnie Tjampitjinpa(Fair use)

Day 3: Leviticus 12

Purity: encountering God’s design When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.

Read this passage from Leviticus 12. What words strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.When you have finished click here to continue. Mary and Joseph give Jesus to Simeon and Anna by John Giuliani (fair use)

Day 4: Leviticus 15

Purity: encountering God’s design When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean.

Read this passage from Leviticus 15.What words or phrases strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words or phrases that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.When you have finished click here to continue.

Christ Healing a bleeding woman, Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter (public domain).

Day 5: Leviticus 16 Atonement: ensuring God’s forgiveness When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.  He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

Read this passage from Leviticus 16. What words or phrases strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words or phrases that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.When you have finished click here to continue.

The Scapegoat by Holman Hunt (public domain)

Day 6: Leviticus 19Holiness: enacting God’s word The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy’.”

Read this passage from Leviticus 19. What words strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.You might like to listen to a musical improvisation on this passage here. When you have finished click here to continue.

Textile art by Karen Herrick  https://www.harlequinarts.co.uk/ Used with permission

Day 7: Leviticus 23

Read this passage from Leviticus 23. What words or phrases strike you?

Read these words again slowly.Stay with one of the words or phrases that catches you and hold it in the stillness before God. 

What thoughts, feelings and images have emerged in this time of prayer?How has the Spirit been at work in your heart as you have prayed?You might like to note these down in your journal.When you have finished click here to continue.

 Holiness - enacting God’s word The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.   On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine.  You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live’.”

Bikkurim by Yoram Raanan (Fair Use)

You might like to listen to one of these pieces of piano music as you reflect on how God has been at work in you in your time of prayer today.

Day 1: I will offer up my life

Day 2: The Heart of Worship

Day 3: Nunc Dimittis

Day 4: The power of your love

Day 5: Only by grace can we enter

Day 6: Restore O Lord

Day 7: The whole earth is full of his glory

...be holy, as I am Holy, says the Lord. You might like to listen to this improvisation on Leviticus 19:22.

As you do, become more aware of God’s call to you and to his world. Textile art by Karen Herrick  https://www.harlequinarts.co.uk/ Used with permission

Psalm 99(NIV) The Lord reigns,     let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim,     let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion;     he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name     he is holy. The King is mighty, he loves justice     you have established equity; in Jacob you have done     what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God     and worship at his footstool;     he is holy.

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,     Samuel was among those who called on his name;

they called on the Lord     and he answered them.

He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;     they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

Lord our God,     you answered them;

you were to Israel a forgiving God,     though you punished their misdeeds.

Exalt the Lord our God     and worship at his holy mountain,

    for the Lord our God is holy.

Har Sinai by Yoram Raanan (Fair Use)

Proverbs 1: 32-33 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,     and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety     and be at ease, without fear of harm.

Photograph by SR Maureen CSF Used with permission

Proverbs 2: 1-5 My son, if you accept my words

    and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom

    and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight

    and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver

    and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord

    and find the knowledge of God.

The Trisagion Holy God. Holy Mighty. Holy Immortal Have mercy on us.

Creative prayer: Praying with Images

While the bible is written with words it contains many detailed descriptions that we see as pictures. In the same way we can look at images and be led to the word of God and to a deeper understanding of his presence and call in our lives. Images are also ways of helping us take the teaching of God deep into our being and when we see that image again we are reminded of what God has shown us. You might like to chose one of the images from this week’s prayer station and use the guide to praying with images that you can download by clicking on the picture to the right. You might like this link to 2 hours of instrumental hymns played on guitar.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.Image on Title slide, Agnus Dei by Francisco de Zurbarán (fair use)The Pathway by Kate Austin (Adapted) Used with permission.Prayer stations informed by Derek Tidball’s The Message of Leviticus

Footsteps in PrayerA journey through the Bible