Contemplative Prayer

The Secret Ladder is about a spiritual quest based on contemplative prayer. It is impossible either to set out on the quest, or to continue it, without the practice of prayer, because the quest is about a person, not a place, and prayer is the means by which we come to know that person, whom we usually call God.

There are various forms of prayer. Vocal prayer is the sort most of us learned as children. It is "saying prayers" – reciting the words of a prayer already written by someone else. Then there is prayerful meditation, where we read a passage of scripture, or something from a spiritual book, and reflect upon it. If the reading and reflection leads us to God, then we are praying. But prayer is more than just addressing God; it is the means by which God speaks to us. If we continue to pray regularly, whether that prayer takes the form of vocal prayer or meditation, or a mixture of both, we will eventually come to a stage where everything simplifies, and where much of the time we have set aside for prayer is spent without either words or meditation, in a sort of deep inner silence. It is in this silence that God speaks to us, although we may never be aware that this is happening. But we will see gradual changes in our lives outside of prayer – old bad habits begin to be broken, a new awareness of and concern for others comes into being and above all, we begin to become aware in a new way of God’s action throughout creation.

Starting to pray in this way, if you have never done it before, is quite simple, and indeed, restful. Set aside a few minutes in the day – ten or fifteen, if you can’t manage any more. Try to make it the same time every day, so that it becomes part of your daily routine. Find some quiet corner – perhaps in your bedroom, or outdoors in fine weather. Begin by quietening down, perhaps with some gentle reflective music to help. Create an ambience of quietness: light a candle. Find a relaxed position – sitting suits most people, whether on the floor, a stool or a chair. Become aware of your breathing: in and out, in and out … Then call to mind whose presence you have come into, this God who is in you and around you. If you have decided to meditate on a scripture passage or a passage from a book, do this now (although ideally you should have read it before you begin, as a preparation, so that now you can simply reflect quietly upon it.) Some word or phrase may have struck you; if it has, stay with it for as long as you can. Speak to God; tell him how you feel about what you have reflected on. If you find you can’t settle down at all, speak to God about whatever it is that is bothering you. That is also prayer.

This is, of course, just a rough outline of what prayer is about and how you might proceed. There are many excellent books on the subject: two that I would particularly recommend are The Impact of God by Iain Matthews and Guidelines for Mystical Prayer by Ruth Burrows (don’t be put off by the word "mystical", which has nothing to do with paranormal experiences! Burrows herself explains in the book how she misunderstood that word for a long time.)

An excellent website which helps you to pray for a short time each day just sitting at your computer is http://www.sacredspace.ie/