In our loud and busy world, praying and contemplation offer a wonderful respite. What is contemplation? Unlike other prayer forms, contemplation does not rely on words or images. They may come, but they are only incidental to the prayer. This prayer is much more intuitive. It is a focused effort to rediscover what we already know in our bones of God. It seeks the experience of God.
Ever since Adam walked with God, belief has been founded on that experience, especially as some individuals have known it. Judeo-Christian faith began with Abraham’s call to leave home for an unknown land where he would become the father of many nations.
It took on a clearer form when Moses stood before a bush that was burning yet not consumed by flames. The voice that spoke from that bush called him to lead a band of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and across the desert.
We cannot order up such an experience, of course. All we can do is create the circumstances that can enable it to happen. I suspect that the experiences we have had came about because we were focused on the moment. Gone were the concerns about what we had to accomplish that day—all the things that crowd our minds and hearts.
It is that state of receptiveness that contemplation tries to create in us. We work at being fully present to the moment and content to relax in God’s presence with us and within us. READ MORE...
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