Space for contemplation?
Contemplative prayer is coming back into fashion, perhaps as a reaction to the higher stress levels we live with today.
Contemplation is a type of meditation. It is deep reflective thought and connected with prayer it implies a quiet, peaceful, gentle type of prayer, filled with silences.
Recently I have been listening to a Nomad podcast reflecting on a 5 day silent retreat. What struck me the most in my busy day, doing my busy work during my busy life is how much the idea of seeking God in silence resonated.
The podcast mentioned that in their church they have energetic services so no one gets bored.
My experience of church is similar. In many ways the church team are a theater performance group, getting ready to put on an entertaining show. Often they go into the service exhausted and stressed from all this preparation for the event of Sunday church.
But in some ways all this busyness can crowd God out. The focus becomes the event, the items in the show become key. A personal experience of God becomes less attainable during the service.
A successful church is usually seen as the largest church, with the biggest band, the fanciest light shows and the massive budget for helping their favourite projects.
I get it.
It is impossible to measure how many people had a connection to God in a service, while it is easy to measure numbers.
We often, instinctively keep our personal moments with God personal, especially when we are still working through the implications of the experience. We want to hold onto a sacred moment between God and ourselves and think on it before we start sharing it. So it’s not feedback a pastor is likely to get on a Sunday.
But if I was a pastor, dedicating my life to serving Gods people I would really hope that people had personal moments with God in my services.
A good, entertaining message might look like success but often has little lasting effect, whereas a moment with God can change a heart and the direction of a life. A moment with God brings clarity and truth.
Contemplation in church services does not bring the obvious hallmarks of success. People who are there for entertainment will be bored and will tell the pastor they didn’t enjoy the service at all.
But my favourite times in services were when we reflected on scripture and sat in quiet for a few minute to see what God wanted to say to us. It brought a peace and depth to the service.
In my life I miss out on some of what God is saying or opportunites to grow because I need to be slower and more thoughtful.
I love the idea of having a few minutes of contemplative prayer in the mornings, or meditating on God’s word or reading the old prayers and remembering all those things that used to be part of church services, in silence and thoughtfulness.
I think that the modern secular drive acknowledging meditation as important is a modern longing for quiet with God without realising it.
I think we long for peace with God in our lives and it is a great pity that it is so often excluded from modern church services.
What do you think?
KG
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