Labyrinth
“The difference between a labyrinth and a maze is one is a prayer and the other is a puzzle.”
Practice
Practice Walking a Labyrinth:
Pause before you enter.
Notice your pace. Listen to your body’s instinct to slow.
See each turn as an invitation to realign to God, yourself, your neighbor.
Invite others to participate in this prayer practice with you.
A labyrinth is an ancient and embodied prayer practice. It is a way for your body to help restore your focus and attention on God. Labyrinths have been created by Christians across the centuries and countless civilizations. The lessons from the practice of walking a labyrinth are essential to our time that is marked by distraction and hurry.
“In a prayer labyrinth, you are there until it is done with you. There's something really kind about it. It offers something I don't quite get with other styles of prayer.” shared Zach Kreeger, the Lead Pastor at Discovery Church. He helped construct a labyrinth on their property years ago with a group of Young Life students. The labyrinth at Discovery is located on a corner of the property where he sees it out his office window. Every week, he sees staff, friends, parishioners, and neighbors walking the labyrinth. The first step in a labyrinth is often to empty your pockets before you enter. It is a physical act of letting go what you are carrying before you begin.
“The implicit gift of a labyrinth versus going for a walk is a letting go of control of directionality.” Zach shared. A labyrinth is not a maze to solve. There are no dead ends, and the goal is not to get quickly to the end. Zach says with a smile, “You feel foolish if you are walking quickly through a prayer labyrinth. Your body starts to tell you you're doing this wrong.” A labyrinth slows you down to a different pace. “If your thought is efficiency, your body will tell you that is not what this is for.”
A labyrinth is constructed with a series of turns leading to the center. Each turn going in toward the center is a symbol for turning from what keeps us distracted or distant from God, ourselves, or others. The inward journey of a labyrinth is focused on releasing. The center is a place to be still. It is a place of receiving. The outer journey is an opportunity to focus on others. The turns as you walk out are ways to return being more present to God, ourselves, and others. Zach stated, “I walk in towards the presence of God in my life. I walk out looking for the presence of God in the world around me.”
A labyrinth is a practice in prayer at a different pace. It invites your body, mind, and soul into the movements of slowing and surrender, repentance and rest. A labyrinth is an ancient practice to be more present to God, yourself, your neighbors, and your neighborhood.
Thank you to Zach Kreeger, the Lead Pastor at Discovery Church, for his conversation and contribution to this article.
