A Better Way to Pray

A deeper way to the Divine

I have never been a big fan of prayer. It never made sense to me. If God was all knowing and all powerful, why should I ask him for what I needed or wanted? God already knew. Prayer seemed like a waste of energy.

I didn’t have the time to continually petition God.

When I was younger, I was not impressed when people would pray for their sports team to win.

What happened when people on the opposing team prayed for victory? How did God decide whose prayer to answer? And why did God care?

And then what about war? It seemed ridiculous and profane that two countries at war would each pray to win the same conflict. I always wondered how God made that decision. If at all.

I think we often treat God like Santa Claus with a long list of petitions.

For many years, I concluded that praying made no difference in my life, so why pray? If good happened it was certainly not because I prayed for it. And so many unanswered prayers. Not only mine but loads and loads of others’ prayers too.

Or worse, prayers answered by pain, suffering, sorrow, and sadness.

Those prayers could fill an eternity.

Yes, prayer for me was a frustrating waste of time.

And then…

I discovered a different, deeper way to pray.

A practice reaching back millennia.

A practice called contemplative prayer.

Contemplative prayer is a deep, mystical practice of communing with God that few in today’s modern world practice.

It moves beyond petitions and meditative prayer. It seeks to connect with the deep, raw energy of love that is God.

Jesus practiced contemplative prayer during the many times he spent in silent prayer, whether during his 40 days in the desert or when he left the apostles to fast and pray.

Just what is contemplative prayer?

In the 6th century, St. Gregory the Great described contemplative prayer as not so much seeking God as EXPERIENCING God through mind and heart: opening one’s whole being to God.

It is a process of inner transformation.

The modern contemplative monk, Father Thomas Keating describes contemplative prayer as an “authentic and unquenchable desire for God”.

A “falling in love with God”.

I first discovered contemplative prayer through the videos of Fr. Richard Rohr.

I was immediately intrigued.

Prayer that was more than asking? Or hoping? Prayer with a goal of uniting my soul with the divine?

I was hungry for this spiritual experience. I had been hungry for it most of my life.

I was apprehensive that my lack of familiarity with this form of prayer would make it very difficult for me to try it.

My worry was for naught.

This first encounter with contemplative prayer was incredibly powerful and continues to be.

I followed this formula.

I lit a candle. I chose verse 10 from Psalm 46: “Be still, and know that I am God” as my centering words.

I quieted my thoughts and tried to relax my body. I closed my eyes, and slowly recited the full verse, and repeated leaving off each meaningful word group one at a time.

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know that I am

Be still and know

Be still

Be.

Then I focused on the word BE. When an intruding thought entered my mind, I tried to gently release it.

I initially struggled with focusing on “Be”. So many intruding thoughts. But the longer I focused, the easier it became.

And then…

I can scarcely communicate what happened next.

A brilliant white light enveloped my mind, a light warm and powerful and filled with the elixir of love. My mind was bathed in brightness and warmth. I had never experienced that deep of a connection with pure love. I began sobbing.

This was the Spirit.

This was deep union with the Divine.

This was LOVE

This was prayer.

I have had many other spiritual experiences since continuing contemplative prayer, but none have been as powerful nor as spiritually transformative as that first.

I’d like to say my life was radically altered by this experience.

It wasn’t.

I am still selfish. I still quickly rise to anger. I still cope with feelings of jealousy and inadequacy.

But I AM changed. My soul experienced the divine. I touched the face of God, and God touched me. I KNOW I am God’s beloved. This knowledge centers me and sustains me through the many discouraging and painful life events I experience.

I try to pray contemplatively 2–3 times a week. It is one of my most spiritually compelling practices.

This practice is available to anyone who desires to touch the Divine, no matter your personal religious beliefs. Some other centering phrases I use are:

“Your faith has saved you, go now in peace”

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, those who believe in me will never die”

“I surrender to the flow and have faith in the ultimate good”.

I haven’t stopped with prayers of petition; I just don’t stop there.

Contemplative prayer is available to anyone and everyone.

I hope it serves you. It has empowered me.