What is "contemplative prayer"?

Answer 1

The recent popular contemplative prayer is prayer with a little twist of eastern religion mixedin with it. If you are not aware of what and how you do it, it can be very dangerous. Contimlative prayer often has eastern style meditation in it. Christian meditation requires reading the word of God and thinking about it "Contimplative Prayer" now involves using mantras to empy your mind so Jesus can fill it. This is what Hindus and Budhists do. Christians should not empty thier minds as their is not security in who will fill them. We need to test all spirits and to remember that Satan can appear like an Angel of light. Just because it feels good does not mean it is of God. We should not spend our time trying to call God down whenever we feel like it to expereince him in this way. Instead we whould pray, read his word and ask the Lord for guidance in our lives.

Answer 2

Like the word, "soul", "contemplation" has different meanings in different writers and traditions.

In the secular world, it can often mean a non-linear reflection upon some physical object,subject,or experience(e.g. Transcendental Meditation).

Contemplatio (contemplative prayer) in Christian usage usually means a kind of prayer that occurs after some years spent in (silent) verbal prayer. It is usually differentiated from prior kinds of prayer by its non-verbal nature, and is not under the control of the praying person.

I believe it is first used by Guigo II (died 1188).
He envisions prayer each day as fourfold:

Reading (Scripture and the Fathers)
Meditation (thinking about what you have read)
Prayer (talking and thinking to God of how your meditation applies to you)
Contemplation"is a certain elevation above itself of the mind which is suspended in God, tasting the joys of eternal sweetness"(Scala Claustralium -chapter 2)

It is sometimes divided into active contemplation (invoking God the Holy Spirit's gift of prayer) and later infused contemplation which occurs at the Holy Spirit's timing and initiative. .

I would say that it is prayer which is added ( over the years and often added in each session of prayer,)to the prayer of words, then to the prayer of wordless thought, then to the prayer of non-conceptual emotion, and finally it is a state of non-conceptual, non-emotive focus upon God.

It is NOT an achievement or sign of sanctity. It is a gift of God, given as He sees fit.
IF you enter into contemplative, as well as the other forms of mental prayer, it is best to have an experienced, supervised, Spiritual Director.

Is it "mystical experience"? If you want mystical experience, try secular or Eastern Meditation. Contemplative prayer is an aid and result of loving God.

Some Christians, have started to find common ground with Buddhist (especially Zen/Chan ) meditation and non-verbal Christian states of prayer, and have been referring to this as "Contemplative Prayer". (The former Abbot of St. Joseph's Tarappist Abbey in Spencer, Mass.)

I think Thomas Merton is misleading, but try "Seeds of Contemplation" or "The Sign of Jonas"

Answer 3

An attempt to think up something useful while engaging in an otherwise pointless activity.

Spending some quiet time in contemplation can be rewarding. It's too bad that some feel the need to attach it to a superstitious rite.

Answer 4

Contemplative - a member of a religious order that emphasizes meditation.

*** g00 9/8 p. 20 Meditation That Is Beneficial ***

The Bible’s Viewpoint

Meditation That Is Beneficial



WHAT does “meditation” mean to you? If you follow the teachings of some Eastern religions, you may believe that it is something that brings greater clarity of thought or special enlightenment. Meditation practiced in Buddhism encourages emptying the mind of all thought. Other forms of meditation are said to encourage filling your mind with “universal truths of wisdom.”

The Bible’s view of meditation differs from these. In what way? Consider the Biblical example of a man named Isaac, who at the age of 40 had much to meditate on. Genesis 24:63 states: “Isaac was out walking in order to meditate in the field at about the falling of evening.” There is no reason to assume that Isaac emptied his mind of thought or that he was merely contemplating a vague ‘universal truth of wisdom.’ Isaac likely had specific things to think about, such as his future, the loss of his mother, or who his wife was to be. He made use of some private time in the evening to meditate, likely on such vital matters. In the Bible, meditation is more than mere daydreaming.

Answer 5

It relies upon what you're asking. Are you asking regardless of if the English be conscious "god" has a meaning; and in that case what's it? Or are you asking regardless of if "God (the writer" has meaning in who he's and what He does? the 1st question with regards to the Eng be conscious "god"; properly to be truthful, i do no longer be conscious of what's the foundation of the be conscious. i assume i'm able to examine online, yet which would be me purely regurgitating what somebody else has written. I truthfully tend to think of of the Eng be conscious "god" to communicate over with "a or the writer". whilst used of the biblical God, then i might communicate over with "God" as meaning "the uncreated writer who's crammed with capability and might; a king who has the superb and skills to decide, yet isn't limited to a actual type" As for regardless of if the God of the Bible has meaning... i might say that the question is the incorrect way around: the God of the Bible is the capability via which ALL else has meaning. No component could have meaning except the God of the Bible is truthfully who He says he's. I comprehend then that this capability that one has to settle for that the God of the Bible - a million - Exists 2 - may well be skilled via mankind 3 - The Bible is an precise account of God conversing with mankind (in its unique language) i assume what might desire to help answer the 2d question is "Why could something have meaning?" Or extra suitable nevertheless "Why are people finding for meaning in issues?" for the time of ALL cultures for the time of all of recorded historic previous... desire this facilitates

Answer 6

seems more of meditation than prayer.

Answer 7

'sweetcheeks' gave you an excellent answer...

This article offers more info on the subject...

http://www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_ContemplativePrayer1.html

Answer 8

I think it's when God answers you back, a two-way conversation.

Answer 9

III. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us."6 Contemplative prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves."7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself.

2710 The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. The heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty ant in faith.

2711 Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we "gather up:" the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed.

2712 Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more.8 But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.

2713 Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts.9 Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, "to his likeness."

2714 Contemplative prayer is also the pre-eminently intense time of prayer. In it the Father strengthens our inner being with power through his Spirit "that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith" and we may be "grounded in love."10

2715 Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. "I look at him and he looks at me": this is what a certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it learns the "interior knowledge of our Lord," the more to love him and follow him.11

2716 Contemplative prayer is hearing the Word of God. Far from being passive, such attentiveness is the obedience of faith, the unconditional acceptance of a servant, and the loving commitment of a child. It participates in the "Yes" of the Son become servant and the Fiat of God's lowly handmaid.

2717 Contemplative prayer is silence, the "symbol of the world to come"12 or "silent love."13 Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the "outer" man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus.

2718 Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts.

2719 Contemplative prayer is a communion of love bearing Life for the multitude, to the extent that it consents to abide in the night of faith. The Paschal night of the Resurrection passes through the night of the agony and the tomb - the three intense moments of the Hour of Jesus which his Spirit (and not "the flesh [which] is weak") brings to life in prayer. We must be willing to "keep watch with [him] one hour."14

Answer 10

when you are thinking about talking to yourself