Walking a Labyrinth as a Prayer Practice

Imagine my surprise, while walking through a London Tube station, to discover a framed picture of a labyrinth hanging on the wall! No label, no instructions, just the picture seen here. Then imagine the frenetic times when you might need a calming prayer practice, and you realize a Tube station is the perfect place to position this ancient prayer prompt.
A labyrinth is a circular walkway laid out so you can start at the entry and follow the path toward the center and out again. This is not a maze in which you can get lost. It is a trail that requires no navigational decision-making so you can focus your mind and heart on conversation with God. The center of the circle depicts the heart of God, the throne of grace, the place of meeting and repentance and healing.
Here’s how you use the labyrinth as a prompt for prayer:
Leaving the bustle of the world behind, enter the walkway and set a calm walking pace. Ask God to be your companion along the way. As you slowly follow the path toward the center, think of this inward movement as a long exhale. I contemplate Colossians 3, which begins, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
You can use my TODAY pattern of examen (see post above), or the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) form of prayer. Or, if it is a bad day, pour out your troubles and failures to God. The idea is to get all the stuff out in the open for God to see and heal, so that by the time you arrive at the center of the labyrinth, you can “Cast all your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Pause in the center and enjoy the presence of God, giving praise and thanks for his compassion, wisdom, and healing. If there’s something you must relinquish to God, you can leave a stone or small object to represent that action before him.
Continue your walk from the center to the outer edge (this usually covers the other half of the circular pattern), thinking of this portion as a great inhale. Ask God for the peace that passes all understanding. Seek wisdom for your next steps of faith and clarification of God’s call in your life in service to others. By the time you reach the exit of the labyrinth, you are ready to face the world’s challenges again.
If you are interested in trying out this particular prayer method, we have some options in the Bay Area, and you might, too, where you live. The closest labyrinth to my home is in the yard of a church on Walnut Avenue in Walnut Creek. Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church also has a labyrinth inlaid in its front patio. I’ve never been, but I hear the labyrinth inside Grace Cathedral in San Francisco is awesome. Andy and I even came across a rock-formed labyrinth on a windswept point north of Lahaina, on Maui.
But if you physically cannot get to a labyrinth, you can use a “finger labyrinth” on a printed page. [Google “Image/Labyrinth printable” and you’ll find one you can print at home.] Trace your finger along the path and pray as you would if you were walking.
Someone this week protested the use of a labyrinth, saying, “But isn’t that a pagan practice?” To which I replied: Christians have been using the labyrinth for centuries, as an aid to quieting the spirit, calming the emotions, and slowing down in order to commune with God. What is “pagan” about that? It does not evoke confusion or fear, because it is not a maze, which is designed to confound. There is no evil connotation, no incantations, no satanic symbols or sorcery involved here. A labyrinth is a place that focuses our attention on the living, compassionate God. Feel free to meet God by this and any other method that draws you into God’s presence!