contemplation

As Christians we have all heard the famous passages that describe how God is in the stillness or how he has a still small voice. We know very well that if we want to hear God than we need to be quiet. Yet, that seems to be the hardest thing for us to do.

I read a chapter on the power of contemplation for our Christian lives and afterward I found myself contemplating about God, and it was beautiful moment. In my church experience, we have talked a lot about prayer, and I can give a whole monologue about the importance of prayer, and I believe it with all my heart and am in no way trying to devalue prayer, but this concept of contemplation was a little foreign to me and I found it refreshing. Prayer is very verbal while contemplation is not. I think that is the key. In the silence. The purpose of contemplation is to focus your inmost being on God himself. Is isn't trying to bring God into your presence, because God is omniscient (which we tend to forget). He is already there, so its really about becoming attuned with the already present presence of God. Its not a time of silence, where your mind is racing on about your "to list", its a time to focus your mind, its a time to listen, its a time to become aware of the Holy Spirit that lives in you. Contemplation is abandoning yourself for a little to God so that you can hear him.

Verbal prayer is very much about the surrounding circumstances in our lives, which at times can be overwhelming, and verbal prayer is important to our Christian walk, but contemplative prayer is about the inner world, its about God in you. Contemplative prayer can sound odd, maybe a bit "new age" but its not about the self at all. Its about listening to God, affirming your faith to God and your love to God.