What does freedom truly look like, and where do you find it in your life? Journey with Rev. Rob McPherson as he explores Edmonia Lewis’ sculpture Forever Free, a bold testament to emancipation and hope. Together, reflect on God’s promise of liberation and discover where God might be calling you to break chains today.

Exodus 6:2-7

Use this guide for prayer and contemplation. Read slowly, pausing as needed for silence and reflection.

Opening

Find a comfortable posture. Let your shoulders soften.

Breathe in slowly… and breathe out gently. As you breathe, let this be your prayer: “Holy One, meet me here.”

Stay here a moment.

Reflection on Contemplative Prayer

In contemplative prayer, we come as we are—body, mind, and spirit—and we allow what we see to draw us into conversation with God.

Today we pray with a sculpture. Even when we cannot take in every angle, the Spirit can still meet us through what is shown, and through what is longed for. We hold a holy tension: there are chains that bind, and there is hope for freedom.

As you gaze, ask for the grace to notice what you notice—and to listen for God’s voice within it.

Scripture

Exodus 6:2–7 (The Inclusive Bible)

God also said to Moses, “I am breath. I appeared to Sarah and Abraham, to Rebecca and Isaac, and to Leah and Rachel and Jacob. As El Shaddai, but by the name I am, I did not reveal myself. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as foreigners. And now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians enslaved. And I have not forgotten my covenant. Say to the Israelites, I am your God, and I will free you from the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from the bondage you are subjected to. And I will redeem you with my arm outstretched and with overwhelming acts of judgment.”

Listen for a word or phrase that shimmers with meaning for you today.

Holy Spirit, breathe through this text, and draw our lives into your freeing love.

Artwork for Prayerful Reflection

Forever Free, Edmonia Lewis (1867)

As you look, allow this sculpture to become a doorway into prayer.

Notice what you are drawn to: the lifted face, the posture of prayer, the broken restraints, the weight left behind. Let what you notice become words you offer to God—honest, simple, and true.

Reflection Questions

As you listen to the Scripture again in your heart, what word or phrase stays with you?

As you gaze at Forever Free, where does your attention rest first—and what might that reveal about what you are carrying today?

When you notice the man standing tall, face uplifted, what stirs in you—relief, grief, longing, strength, resistance?

What do the broken shackles and the ball and chain underfoot bring to mind in your own life, in your community, or in the wider world?

As you look at the woman kneeling in prayer, eyes turned toward heaven, what prayer rises in you with her?

The chain from her foot disappears into the base—what feels hidden, unfinished, or still tethered in you?

Where do you sense God leading your heart, your mind, and your soul toward awareness right now?

What chains does God bring to your attention today—chains that bind you, and chains that bind others?

If God were speaking to you as to Moses—“I have heard… I have not forgotten… I will free you”—what words would you trust God to speak over you, and what response would you offer back?

Closing

God of covenant and freedom, you hear the groaning of your people, and you do not forget. Break what binds us. Strengthen what is true within us. Make us companions in your work of liberation, for ourselves and for others. Amen.

“Sometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome. But where there is a will, there is a way. I pitched in and dug at my work until now I am where I am.” — Edmonia Lewis.