Journey to the Shores

The Contemplative Tradition

Excerpts from Thomas Merton, Julian of Norwich, Henri J. M. Nouwen, George A. Buttrick, Evelyn Underhill, Frank Laubach, John Baillie, and Martin Luther

In Richard J. Foster’s Streams of Living Water, he identifies seven streams, one of which is the contemplative stream, the focus of this blog post. John, the one whom Jesus loved, is a great example for the Contemplative Stream. He demonstrates this stream with deep intimacy, love, prayer-filled meditation, and discernment.^[1] As I continue this week in reading the Devotional Classics, there are three overarching themes associated with the prayer-filled life: preparing, discipline, and faith-filled praying. Preparation encompasses the idea of preparing our minds and hearts for prayer. Discipline means creating a habit to spend time in the presence of God. Finally, having faith-filled prayers is believing with our whole being that God can give, show, and open doors as long as we have faith that God will do it.

Preparing our Minds and Hearts for Prayer

When my family and I lived in Texas, I met a Chaplain who introduced me to the practice of Mindfulness. This technique helped me to focus on the presence of God and cultivate an attitude of faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, supplication, trust, and joy that Thomas Merton voices in his Contemplative Prayer.^[2]  Evelyn Underhill expresses meditation as “the art of thinking steadily and methodically about spiritual things.”^[3] Henri J. M. Nouwen describes opening our minds helps to open our hearts to God.^[4] When looking at scripture, we see “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, set your minds on things above, preparing your minds for action.”^[5]

Starting our prayer time with preparing our minds helps to create an atmosphere where we are focused on God. Where we are engaged in solitude and force the distractions of the world to subside, so may we pay attention to God and the Holy Spirit. Richard Foster says, “Everyone—including ourselves at first—will see our solitude as a waste of good time. In silence and solitude, God slowly but surely frees us from our egomania.”^[6]

In 1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV, God could have spoken to Elijah in one of several ways, but He chose to speak in a low whisper. There have been a couple of times in my life where this low whisper has come during a season of rest. Our second time living in Kansas, I was eager to get involved in the community. Every chance I had, the door was shut, and every time I heard the low whisper, “be still and know.”[7] At the time, I did not know for what I was being prepared, but I soon found out. The following year I was met with a volunteer position for a women’s ministry with which I remain associated. I was also presented with opportunities at the local church I attended. In my experience, God prepares us for ministry during times of solitude.

“And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 
Matthew 22:37 ESV

Another aspect of preparing ourselves for prayer is our love for God. We love God so much that we want to share with Him all of our ups, downs, requests, adoration, thanksgiving, and everything in between. Julian of Norwich says, “For of all things, contemplating and loving the Creator made my soul seem less in its own sight and filled it full with reverent fear and true meekness and with much love for my fellow Christians.”^[8] When we love God, we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and we love our neighbors as ourselves. Prayer fans the flames of love. It is a “steady gaze of the soul upon the God who loves us.”^[9]

“What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.” 
1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV

Discipline

Having a prayer-filled life takes discipline and a schedule of sorts. Understanding that God is all around us is half of the prayer-filled life. Henri J.M. Nouwen put into words so well, “A Spiritual life requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks but whom we seldom hear.”^[10] He also says, “When we stick to our discipline, in the conviction that God is with us even when we do not yet hear him, we slowly discover that we do not want to miss our time alone with God. Although we do not experience much satisfaction in our solitude, we realize that a day without solitude is less ‘spiritual’ than a day with it.”^[11] This time with God becomes central to our daily regimen.

George A. Buttrick gives an example of a regimen of private prayer, “After thanksgiving, we should contemplate God’s abounding goodness and await his word concerning his own gifts. After confession, we should adore the pardoning Love made known in Christ and listen for his guidance. After intercession, we should pause to try to see the whole world’s need as Christ saw it from his cross. After petition, we should wait again to mediate upon the Will.”^[12] Having a routine takes discipline: “submission is the first and last duty of man.”^[13] Frank Laubach was disciplined in his approach to prayer life. He experimented with practicing God’s presence in his daily life. He exclaimed, “Oh, this thing of keeping in constant touch with God, making him the object of my thought and the companion of my conversations, is the most amazing thing I ever ran across. It. Is. Working.”^[14] When we are disciplined and make time for quiet contemplation with God, our lives are enriched.

Active Faith-Filled Prayers

“Prayer is a friendship with God.”^[15]

George A. Buttrick

From John Baillie’s excerpts, his morning prayers show great love, joy, presence, and thanksgiving.^[16] They are an encouragement to us as we have faith in God amongst our daily lives.  Frank Laubach also shares this undeniable faith in God. Likewise, Richard Foster describes prayer like an automobile: “You do not have to understand everything about its inner workings for it to get you somewhere. I have found that if we simply pray—even if we pray in wrong ways—God is pleased with our feeble efforts, and Jesus lovingly guides us into more excellent ways.”^[17]

In Matthew, Jesus instructs us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”^[18] When we pray, we must trust that what we are asking, seek, or knock God will answer. Trusting God allows the love that we have for Him to be shown. Martin Luther says, “For where this faith and confidence is not in the prayer, the prayer is dead.”^[19] In James, “Let him ask in faith, with no doubting, or the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”^[20] Simply, if we do not believe or trust what God says, then we do not truly love Him. Luther also states, “When we pray, the heart and the conscience must not pull away from God because of our sins and our unworthiness, or stand in doubt, or be scared away.”[21] God already knows what troubles us; we should not let those things keep us from going to Him. “For we live by faith, not by sight.”^[22]

Heavenly Father, open the eyes of our hearts and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling us to embrace. Reveal to us the glorious riches You are preparing as our inheritance. Amen Ephesians 1:18 ESV

The Misty Hills

I spend most mornings driving my children to school. As I head out in the first sunlight of the day, the fog covers the farmland around us. I drive by a pond with what looks like steam emanating from the surface. The way the sun shines through the little breaks of pine trees and lights up the fog-covered corn fields is quite breathtaking. In Genesis 1, it says God created the heavens and earth.^[23] What a good and glorious life that I can wake up and see the wonders of God’s creation. Noticing these moments has allowed me to lean more into God, allowing me to dwell in awe of His creation. What a perfect moment for prayer, as the presence of God is surely here on my drives and every moment in between.

Morning Prayer with John Baillie

This week I prayed one of John Baillie’s morning prayers to start my day. On the third day, “Joyous and Helpful Labor”, a section filled my heart with gratefulness: “O You who in the fullness of time raised up our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to enlighten our hearts with the knowledge of Your love, grant me the grace to be worthy of His name. Amen.”^[24] I sometimes get distracted by who I am to be worthy of God. It is a humbling thought that God chose me, called me by name, gives me grace and a love that has no bounds.  It reminds me of Romans 8:39: “nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What a wonderful reminder that I am loved and that I am worthy of God. This goes further, though; as God gives me grace, I also need to give others grace because I am worthy, and so are they. It is through the contemplative stream that we find these moments of clarity in life that we find our small place among His great creations.

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[1] Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water: Essential Practices from the Six Great Traditions of Christian Faith, (New York: HaperCollins, 1998), 41

[23] Genesis 1:1 ESV

[24] Foster and Smith, Devotional Classics, 110