1. With Jesus on the Holodeck
8/8/2018 6:15 AM
With Jesus on the Holodeck
Serious
Prayer
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2. Q and A Q: Isn’t that a pretty cheesy title?
A: Yes
Q: I didn’t know you were a trekkie
A: I’m not (and that’s not a question…)
Q: So does this mean that you don’t really know what you’re talking about?
A: That’s correct (but I know a little about Jesus)

3. Walter’s holodeck theory of prayer:
(Formerly known as the two dancing stick figures in a heart theory)
1. Our conscious selves are just a tiny fraction of who we are.
2. These conscious selves can visit other parts of who we are.
3. One of these places that we can visit we could call a “playing field” or “holodeck” where we imaginatively encounter God (or Jesus).
4. We can bring our thoughts of others and various circumstances into the holodeck.

4. Walter’s holodeck theory of prayer:
5. We share control of what happens on the playing field/holodeck
It can be “programmed” by ourselves and culture
“collective unconscious”
And, most importantly, we invite God to “play” with us on the holodeck
7. So we then expect “Hologram God/Jesus” to act like God
8. Though we must exercise discernment, it’s often surprisingly easy to know when God meets us there.

5. An anthropologist studies the Vineyard
T. Luhrmann’s When God Talks Back
people are trained to “know God’s voice” (all the usual discernment stuff: Bible, community, fruit)
They learn to receive thoughts from one part of their brain as coming from “outside of themselves” (i.e. from God)
Even this secular anthropologist believed it was quite reasonable to expect that by this means it really could be God that people were hearing from
“If the supernatural is real, it reaches to each according to that person’s skill and style.”
“...through the process of this journey, in my own way I have come to know God.”

6. Reminder: How Jesus showed us what God is like…
13 Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. (Matt )

7. Reminder: How Jesus showed us what God is like…
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life….
21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
- (Mark 10.17, 21)
Even when firm and challenging, it’s all grounded in compassion

8. Prayer Exercise 1
1. Create your playing field/holodeck (key – simple and not distracting):
Comfortable room (real or imaginary)
Outdoor space
Add a symbol if you like
2. Invite God to be there with you
Option 1) – visually picture Jesus or some other way to imagine God’s presence
Option 2) – just “be aware” of God’s presence without a visual image
3. Don’t evaluate how well you are doing or whether anything “is working” – just try #2 and rest or be curious in that

9. Prayer Exercise 2
If you want – go back to the holodeck where you were just meeting with God
With honest compassion (and quietly but confidently trusting God’s presence) hold in awareness the person or situation that you wrote down
Patiently, in the silence, just notice wherever your thoughts go.
As thoughts arise – ask yourself “is there something in this thought?” If ‘yes’ follow that thought; if ‘no’ gently return to the person or situation

10. Prayer Exercise 3
Back in the holodeck, still thinking of the person or situation you wrote down…
Turn attention to God/Jesus and ask a question
“What do you see?”
“What might I do?”
Be silent for a moment and then write down the best answer that you hear/imagine
Share that with someone else (especially if there is any question as to whether it sounds like the right thing)