What is a saying?

In the life of the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer, we focus on dominical sayings. These are short sentences or sayings in the Bible which are expressed in direct speech. They are recorded as spoken by God or by Jesus or, occasionally, by an angel (as the messenger of God). These sayings occur in most (but not all) books in the Bible and give an inexhaustible resource for our prayers and purposes.

Sayings which are not in direct speech and are comments about God or Jesus are precious too and are suitable for meditation, but not for contemplation using the Fellowship method. For example, 'The Lord is my Shepherd' and the 23rd Psalm which follows are wonderful food for meditation; but in the Fellowship, the Saying would probably be "I am the good shepherd" (John 10.11), with the 23rd psalm used to deepen our understanding of the Saying.