Prayer has been called many things and has taken many forms throughout history. We have managed to make prayer a completely individualistic, perfunctory, and/or ego-stroking exercise. It was essentially this development that caused our Lord to tell us that when we pray, we ought to do so in our closets, not on the street corners. In fact He goes on to say that those who pray to be noticed by men receive their reward in that recognition. In other words, their prayer doesn’t count. If we are looking for recognition, that’s what we get; not an audience before our God.
There are various forms of prayer from public to private, from liturgical to popular, from planned to spontaneous. Prayer can be used for various purposes including praise, complaint, entreaty, intercession, thanksgiving, and confession. Any of these purposes can serve as prompting for prayer and any such prayer would be complete. Some folks however, have developed structures for prayer to ensure that our approach to our God is appropriate and includes every aspect of our relationship with Him. One such structure uses the acronym ACTS. These letters remind us that in our prayers, we should consider Adoring our holy and gracious God, Confessing our sins and recognizing that we are but sinning creatures, Thanking God for the blessings we have received and His steadfastness, and Supplication to ask our God for help for ourselves and others, for healing, for continued grace and forgiveness, and for His continued presence. This structure of prayer is appropriate for any prayer in any setting except perhaps those that call for a specific type or content in a prayer.
Another type of prayer, one that is specifically personal and individualistic, is contemplative prayer. In this prayer, the supplicant can use all of the ACTS as a sort of introduction to a period of listening and experiencing our God. In contemplative prayer, the supplicant seeks to enter God’s presence in as pure a form as possible, and to commune with or experience Him completely. This type of prayer becomes silent and even unthinking to some degree. Unthinking in the sense that to have our minds actively praying jeopardizes the possibility of simply experiencing the presence of God.
Thomas Merton is perhaps the most well known modern writer on contemplative prayer. Thomas was a Catholic monk who sought to be alone with God even in the midst of monastic life. At his monastery, Merton was even given permission to build a hermitage (an old tool shed) where he could be seen sitting sometimes in the lotus position contemplating and/or meditating on God. But more than that. Contemplative prayer reviews, evaluates, and determines who we are, who God is or more correctly, what God is in relation to us. While much of today’s religious self-reflection points to the fact that we are nothing (and that is correct in its own way), the contemplative realizes that we are a word spoken by God. While that makes us small, it also means that creation (also a word spoken by God) was made by our God for His pleasure. We were made for God’s pleasure. If anything, that does not make us insignificant. The contemplative supplicant eventually comes to realize that we were made in the likeness of our God and are called to return to Him, to understand that likeness, and to allow ourselves to be lost in the essence of God. We come to see the common origin of everything physical – that our God has made it all, and we come to see things just and as simply as they are – without agendas, without false stories, without supposed perfection.
Merton is but one in a long line of contemplatives. Many there are who have sought and experienced the presence of God. To do so, all alike urge that we seek God simply as God. Not as a benefactor, not even specifically as savior, but as God – in His essence. To do so requires that we clear our minds, remove distractions, and listen. But we are not to listen too hard because in our attempts to hear, we may well miss the message and presence of God.
Beginning a contemplative prayer life is not in and of itself much different that the ways we normally pray, except that it is intensely personal and individual. Begin by finding a quiet place in which you will not be disturbed for some time (to start, 15 minutes perhaps). It may help to read a portion of Scripture or some favored devotional, although Scripture is likely best. Place yourself in a comfortable position, one that won’t require much adjustment for the time you’ve allotted. It is appropriate to relax by way of closing your eyes, cleansing your body by deep breathing, and then moving to moderate or normal breathing in the relaxed state. Begin with a prayer, perhaps one that acknowledges God, invites Him to you, and asks that He allow you entrance to Him. You need not make this prayer overly long, three to five sentences at the most. And then clear your mind – but don’t fight thoughts, and listen. Mental activity per se is not proscribed, but all such activity to should be at the response to thoughts that come to you and be limited to evaluating your relationship, character, and being with that of God.
Over time, the amount of time you can spend in contemplative prayer will grow – to an hour or more, several times a day. Your thoughts will become clearer, less cluttered with day to day concerns, God’s character and His desire for you will become clearer, and you will experience His presence. Not all the time, but from time to time, God will be with you in an almost physical sense. In those instances, God as He is, your purpose, and your relationship to creation become clear and the world becomes simple.Don’t worry if you don’t achieve this seeming nirvana right off or very often. You’re learning and it will take time. There are many challenges to reaching that place and chief among them is you. Contemplation is not something done so that we can say we’ve done it, it isn’t the latest fad, nor is its importance in the event itself. Rather contemplation is simply a way to enter His presence and experience Him. It is God we are after, not an experience. It is hard to enter God’s loving presence while worried about our lives, about getting ahead, about appearing pious. All of these must go in the process of perfecting contemplation. You will have set backs. Those are normal, accept them and try again.
There are various forms of prayer from public to private, from liturgical to popular, from planned to spontaneous. Prayer can be used for various purposes including praise, complaint, entreaty, intercession, thanksgiving, and confession. Any of these purposes can serve as prompting for prayer and any such prayer would be complete. Some folks however, have developed structures for prayer to ensure that our approach to our God is appropriate and includes every aspect of our relationship with Him. One such structure uses the acronym ACTS. These letters remind us that in our prayers, we should consider Adoring our holy and gracious God, Confessing our sins and recognizing that we are but sinning creatures, Thanking God for the blessings we have received and His steadfastness, and Supplication to ask our God for help for ourselves and others, for healing, for continued grace and forgiveness, and for His continued presence. This structure of prayer is appropriate for any prayer in any setting except perhaps those that call for a specific type or content in a prayer.
Another type of prayer, one that is specifically personal and individualistic, is contemplative prayer. In this prayer, the supplicant can use all of the ACTS as a sort of introduction to a period of listening and experiencing our God. In contemplative prayer, the supplicant seeks to enter God’s presence in as pure a form as possible, and to commune with or experience Him completely. This type of prayer becomes silent and even unthinking to some degree. Unthinking in the sense that to have our minds actively praying jeopardizes the possibility of simply experiencing the presence of God.
Thomas Merton is perhaps the most well known modern writer on contemplative prayer. Thomas was a Catholic monk who sought to be alone with God even in the midst of monastic life. At his monastery, Merton was even given permission to build a hermitage (an old tool shed) where he could be seen sitting sometimes in the lotus position contemplating and/or meditating on God. But more than that. Contemplative prayer reviews, evaluates, and determines who we are, who God is or more correctly, what God is in relation to us. While much of today’s religious self-reflection points to the fact that we are nothing (and that is correct in its own way), the contemplative realizes that we are a word spoken by God. While that makes us small, it also means that creation (also a word spoken by God) was made by our God for His pleasure. We were made for God’s pleasure. If anything, that does not make us insignificant. The contemplative supplicant eventually comes to realize that we were made in the likeness of our God and are called to return to Him, to understand that likeness, and to allow ourselves to be lost in the essence of God. We come to see the common origin of everything physical – that our God has made it all, and we come to see things just and as simply as they are – without agendas, without false stories, without supposed perfection.
Merton is but one in a long line of contemplatives. Many there are who have sought and experienced the presence of God. To do so, all alike urge that we seek God simply as God. Not as a benefactor, not even specifically as savior, but as God – in His essence. To do so requires that we clear our minds, remove distractions, and listen. But we are not to listen too hard because in our attempts to hear, we may well miss the message and presence of God.
Beginning a contemplative prayer life is not in and of itself much different that the ways we normally pray, except that it is intensely personal and individual. Begin by finding a quiet place in which you will not be disturbed for some time (to start, 15 minutes perhaps). It may help to read a portion of Scripture or some favored devotional, although Scripture is likely best. Place yourself in a comfortable position, one that won’t require much adjustment for the time you’ve allotted. It is appropriate to relax by way of closing your eyes, cleansing your body by deep breathing, and then moving to moderate or normal breathing in the relaxed state. Begin with a prayer, perhaps one that acknowledges God, invites Him to you, and asks that He allow you entrance to Him. You need not make this prayer overly long, three to five sentences at the most. And then clear your mind – but don’t fight thoughts, and listen. Mental activity per se is not proscribed, but all such activity to should be at the response to thoughts that come to you and be limited to evaluating your relationship, character, and being with that of God.
Over time, the amount of time you can spend in contemplative prayer will grow – to an hour or more, several times a day. Your thoughts will become clearer, less cluttered with day to day concerns, God’s character and His desire for you will become clearer, and you will experience His presence. Not all the time, but from time to time, God will be with you in an almost physical sense. In those instances, God as He is, your purpose, and your relationship to creation become clear and the world becomes simple.Don’t worry if you don’t achieve this seeming nirvana right off or very often. You’re learning and it will take time. There are many challenges to reaching that place and chief among them is you. Contemplation is not something done so that we can say we’ve done it, it isn’t the latest fad, nor is its importance in the event itself. Rather contemplation is simply a way to enter His presence and experience Him. It is God we are after, not an experience. It is hard to enter God’s loving presence while worried about our lives, about getting ahead, about appearing pious. All of these must go in the process of perfecting contemplation. You will have set backs. Those are normal, accept them and try again.
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