Contemplative Prayer

Contemplative Prayer

by Sonia Thomas

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Mark 1:35 NKJV

Of late I have been finding this form of prayer helpful in receiving an awareness of the Presence of God. This is what I would like to talk about today.

In the Scriptures throughout the gospels, we see these specific remarks about Jesus rising early and coming away from the crowds and even his own disciples. He specifically had the goal of going to spend time with the Father, alone. You know, I have heard this saying, that you spend time with the one you love if you have a choice. Jesus had a choice and chose to sacrifice his sleep to spend time in His Father's Presence. It was there amongst other things, that he gathered all the spiritual resources he needed to tend not only to the needs of all that were desperate for help and healing, but also the needs of his own disciples. What appeals to me though is the impact that contemplative prayer or meditative prayer, has on the one that engages in it.

There are several things that I have found beneficial with this practice. Before I continue though, I want to give credit to Joyce Huggett’s book Listening to God for aiding me in this. I had read this book many years ago and lost my original copy to water damage. My current copy was given to me by some young friends of mine. The book belonged to their mother who passed away unexpectedly a few years ago. She was a dear precious friend of mine and so it has more significance. Some of the information I already knew but had put down. So, with great delight I picked it up some months back and began to navigate my way through monastic understandings and behaviors and Joyce’s own experience, that reflect the beauty and simplicity of knowing God.

Anyways, what have I learned?

1.       Our one-on-one relationship with God is the most profound relationship we will ever have this side of heaven. No human relationship will ever give us what God can give us in these unique solitary moments.

2.       It is necessary for the believer, to be available for solitary moments with Father God, on a regular basis. I have a place that I go walking in the early morning when there are less people around driving to work. Every time I go there, I can feel God’s smile arising in my heart. Yes, you can feel smiles. 😃

It is like He is saying, “I'm so happy to see you.” As I walk and listen and talk to God, I can feel His Presence and some of the questions I have in the beginning of my walk I do not even raise as the time goes by. It is like they do not matter because all that matters is that I am with Him.

3.       With that said it is good to have a special place to retreat to in the house, if walking is not your thing. Joyce talks about setting up a room and making it a prayer space for that purpose, and that purpose alone. It can be simple or very decorative but not to the point of distracting. Setting a regular time is so important too. This involves serious discipline but its oh so worth it. Many times, when I am waking up and I am discussing with my body what I am going to do as it gets a bit lighter in the mornings, I can hear its voice saying “no not today. Let us sleep in. You deserve it.” I say, “no you can rest another morning but today we are walking.” Sometimes it is a walk, sometimes it is a space but whichever way it is, we are doing this.

4.       I have found it to be a place of purging. Let me clarify. God will begin to cleanse me inwardly of stuff I do not even know I am carrying. Burdens, offense, sadness at the state of our world. He replaces them with His peace and gladness. Something that is not humanly derived. How do I know that, because when something arises later that day that would in the past get me a little riled up, it does not? It has lost its power. Instead, I have a Holy Spirit response and the response differs depending on what it is, but I know it God's perspective, because peace is the conclusion to my thoughts at the end of the matter.

5.       God wants us still even if we are in motion and by that, I mean walking. It’s a matter of positioning the heart. In this way we are being unburdened so that we can receive His love and his wisdom to aid us in this journey called life and, on the way, help others.

6.       This is often a place for silence when contemplating. Being in a place of stillness, silence gives one an appreciation for words. I have tried it. Stillness often requires no words. It’s like learning another language that your whole body participates in, your mind and your emotions as well. My experience is that the whole of my being becomes more fully aware of the presence of God and as a result feels the benefit. Some might say that this is like the results that they get from soaking. Maybe so but in this case, if I am in my home there are no words, For me, no music, just silence. There is something powerful about silence when God is invited into it. When I move away from that place, I see and feel words differently. It is a magnificent awakening when this happens.

I sense that more and more believers, in the days to come are going come apart to this form of prayer as our world gets busier and busier. We must not allow the noise inside and outside to take us to a place of being intolerable. God does not want that. That’s the place of the desert. the place of dryness or the place of many answers except for the one that you need right now. He is available. We can go there to that place of stillness as often as we want.

Watch this space for future blogs on contemplative prayer. Come with me as I explore the regions of this rediscovered form of prayer.