Contemplative Prayer or Restful Receiving is not necessarily what we may think (or fear!).
- It is not a relaxation exercise.[i] The primary purpose is not to lower blood pressure or decrease stress—although those things can certainly happen.
- It is not a mystical experience in which God appears visibly to us or audibly speaks to us.[ii] In our stillness and quietness, God certainly could choose to appear visibly or speak audibly. But that’s not to be expected.
- And it is not an attempt to empty the mind. The purpose of Eastern meditation is to empty the mind. But the purpose of Restful Receiving is more to fill the mind—with God.[iii]
Contemplative Prayer is primarily spending intentional time in silence before God. In that stillness we can receive the rest God wishes to bring and we can enjoy just “hanging out with God.” In addition, that quietness allows us to be more receptive to something God may wish to do or to reveal. We may receive from God a small but important word about our day, about our past, or about something God is teaching us regarding himself.
Because of biblical texts like the Psalms, for the first 16 centuries of Christianity, Contemplative Prayer was recognized as the goal of Christian spirituality. It was expected that every Christian would strive to experience this type of prayer. The Greek Church Fathers used the word “theoria” to describe an experiential knowledge of God. “Theoria” was translated into the Latin word from which we get the English word “contemplation.” Literally, Contemplative Prayer is experiencing God, being with God. One ancient author called it “resting in God.” This type of “resting in God” was understood to be the final step in a widely prescribed method of Bible reading called “lectio divina”, or divine reading, which culminated in contemplation. Lectio Divina initially consisted of three steps:
- Meditatio – a reflective pondering of the words of a text.
- Oratio – our spontaneous response to those reflections in spoken prayer.
- Contemplatio – a state of resting in the presence of God.[iv]
A couple of images may help make more sense of this type of prayer. First, imagine a car with an engine and a radio. We often hear the loud radio but we rarely just listen to the engine. In fact, the only time we tend to hear the engine is when something is wrong. The radio signifies much of our world and much of what occupies our attention in life. The engine signifies God. He is what ultimately drives our life. Contemplative Prayer is a way of turning down the noise of the world (the radio) in order to attend to the voice and presence of God (the engine).[v]
Second, imagine a river flowing with water. On top of the water are boats and other debris (branches of trees, some garbage, etc.). We often tend to focus on the boats that are on the water and on the debris floating down the river. We don’t pay that much attention to the water itself. The boats and debris signify much of our world and much of what occupies our attention in life. The water itself signifies God. Contemplative Prayer is a way of turning our attention from the boats and debris to the river itself.[vi]
Concerning the restful element of this type of prayer Peter of Celles wrote this in the Middle Ages:[vii] “God works in us while we rest in him. Beyond all grasping is this work of the Creator, itself creative, this rest. For such work exceeds all rest, in its tranquility. This rest, in its effect, shines forth as more productive than any work.”
There is a rest of the soul that comes only through Contemplative Prayer. And it is a rest that ultimately proves to be more productive than any work we might do. The fruit of resting silently in God will be borne throughout the rest of the day, the week, the month, and the year.
Regarding the receiving element of Contemplative Prayer, a 4th century Desert Father wrote these words:[viii] “Behold, my beloved, I have shown you the power of silence, how thoroughly it heals and how fully pleasing it is to God. Wherefore I have written to you to show yourselves strong in this work you have undertaken, so that you may know it is by silence that the saints grew, that it was because of silence that the power of God dwelt in them, because of silence that the mysteries of God were known to them.”
There is spiritual growth that will only take place through silence. There is power that becomes available only through silence. There is knowledge and understanding that only comes through silence.
Restful Receiving Light
There are many ways to incorporate Restful Receiving into our lives. I’ll mention three general ways.
First, we can practice what I’ll call “Restful Receiving Light.” We can incorporate moments of intentional silence into activities we are already doing. For example, my drive to work takes about twenty minutes each morning. For about ten minutes of the drive, I listen to an audio version of the One Year Bible. For the remaining ten minutes, I just drive in silence. It is intentional silence because I remind myself that God is present with me and it is my desire to just spend that silent time with him. I find that I am peaceful, sharp, and God-oriented once I arrive at the church building because of those few moments of silence.
Perhaps you walk or bike or run for exercise. Consider spending at least part of that time in silence. No whistling. No iPod. Just walk, bike or run in quietness. But be intentional. Remind yourself that God is with you and you desire to spend that time with him.
The next time it’s your turn to wash the dishes, or make dinner, or do some other chore or household task, do it in silence. Remind yourself that God is present and you want to be present to him. No TV. No radio. Just intentional silence.
Restful Receiving Light is when we work intentional silence into things we are already doing.
Targeted Restful Receiving
Second, we can practice what I’ll call “Targeted Restful Receiving.” In Targeted Restful Receiving we set some item before God and we silently seek to hear from God about it. That item might be a text. As we read the Bible, we might bring that text before God and seek to hear from God about that text. In addition, similar to the practice of The Examen, we might bring a specific time period (e.g., the last 6 hours) before God and seek to hear from God about that time period. Or we might bring before God a specific issue, challenge, or trouble and seek to hear from God about that issue, challenge, or trouble. The goal is to intentionally bring something before God and then to be quiet and receptive to something he may lead us to understand regarding that item.
For example, I do this when I read the Bible early each morning. I read the text slowly and deliberately out loud several times. Then I am quiet. And I seek to hear from God what part of that text does he most want me to pay attention to? What part of that text is the most important word for me to hear that day?
If you find yourself worried or anxious about something, take a few moments to verbalize that to God, and then sit in silence. God may communicate something to you regarding that item.
If you find yourself needing to make a decision, verbalize that to God, then sit in silence. Be receptive to what God might communicate in that stillness.
Restful Receiving Premium
Finally, we can practice what I’ll call “Restful Receiving Premium.” This is the most formal version of Contemplative Prayer. This is not silent time we add to something we are already doing. This is silent time we carve out of our schedule. It is not silent time meant to hear from God. It is silent time meant simply to spend in the presence of God.
Ideally, it is 20 minutes at the beginning of the day and 20 minutes at the end of the day. The goal is not to hear from God, but to be with God and be present to God for 20 full minutes of silence. It takes at least this long for the average person’s mind to stop wandering and grabbing on randomly to thoughts, memories, and feelings and to arrive at a state of true interior silence.
Ideally, in this level of Contemplative Prayer, we sit with our eyes closed and are present with God in total silence. No inspirational music playing. No humming or singing. Just silence. In the silence our mind begins to wander. Rather than try to ignore those distracting thoughts, we intentionally let go of them, as if releasing a stick and allowing it to float down the river. As each emotion or random thought comes, we attend to it and let it go down stream. The goal is let these go and to just exist in the presence of God.[ix] We are not trying to solve any problems, process any feelings, or understand any text. We are trying to intentionally spend 20 minutes in stillness with God.
Letting God Be God
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of Contemplative Prayer or Restful Receiving is that through it we allow God to be God. At times, prayer can be a power trip. It can be our attempt to get God doing what we want him doing. It can be our way of trying to persuade God to fulfill our wishes and dreams and aspirations. But Restful Receiving turns those tables. Restful Receiving forces us to just be quiet and let God do what he wants to do.
This is captured beautifully in Psalm 131 (The Message):
1God, I’m not trying to rule the roost, I don’t want to be king of the mountain. I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. 2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content. 3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!
May we rest in God and find our soul’s content in that rest.
Spend ten minutes today in restful silence with God.
[i] Thomas Keating Open Mind Open Heart (Continuum, 1992).
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline Revised Edition (Harper & Row, 1988), 20.
[iv] Keating.
[v] Mark Thibodeaux Armchair Mystic (Saint Anthony Messenger Press, 2001.
[vi] Keating.
[vii] Thomas Merton Contemplative Prayer (Image Books, 1996), 59.
[viii] Ibid., 42.
[ix] Keating.
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