Contemplation:
1.
The action of looking thoughtfully
at, or giving careful thought to, something for a period of time.
- “He made his decision after many hours of contemplation.” "She contemplated the beauty of the
meadow.”
- Synonyms: examination, inspection, observation, survey,
study, scrutiny, rumination, reflection, introspection, consideration.
Contemplation can be described as
the steady gaze of the soul upon God, where we seek to be prayerfully present with Him. It is where we learn to place ourselves before God and become attentive to His voice.
Three Tales About Breathing;
I remember the first time I ever stepped into a classroom to substitute teach. I stood outside the door knowing that just beyond that point were a couple dozen second-graders full of energy and attitude. For the next seven hours it was up to me to manage their behavior, keep them on schedule, and hopefully teach them something! I was a nervous wreck! How could mini people hold such power? I took a few deep breaths to gather my thoughts and proceeded through the door. It's funny how breath becomes short when something overwhelms us........ As an infant, our son sometimes came down with a horrible cough that would prevent him from breathing easily. Some called it “the croup”. I remember one night it was especially bad and we called the doctor (who was not all that thrilled to be awakened at 1 am, but we were desperate). His advice was to keep our son calm to help him inhale the steamy air. It meant sitting with him in our tiny little bathroom with the shower running, holding him, and singing a song or two for comfort... while he did his best to simply breathe. The more still he sat, the better his breathing. Thankfully it worked. If you've ever been with someone who is having difficulty breathing you know it can be scary and quickly become life-threatening! ...
....Recently my friend’s daughter was hospitalized with RSV which is a virus that affects the lungs and breathing passages. The doctor told her parents that the best way to help her recover was to show her how to inhale deeply, letting the whole lung fill up and function the way it was meant to. Breathing is one of those thing we simply must do. We cannot function if we do not breathe. So where am I going with all this talk about breathing when the subject is contemplation? Contemplation helps us recover from a breathless life.
In a similar way to my son and our friends daughter, you and I live with
spiritual viruses that infect our spiritual breathing capacity. Life tensions rise daily in the form of a
crammed schedule, an angry boss, fussy children, personal frustrations - I could
go on, but surely you get the picture.
These are the joy-stealers, the life-suckers, and if we are not careful,
they will eclipse our view of God entirely. Sometimes we need to let our soul "breathe".
As a voice coach I would tell
students to breathe in a similar manner as the doctors mentioned above. It is important for a singer to avoid forced breathing
where the breath is gasped, tense, and shallow. Inhaling correctly allows the singer to bring the full expression of the phrase to life. Quiet,
thoughtful, listening prayer – contemplative prayer – is like breathing. We pause to "breathe in" the breath of God, deep and free, which in turn allows us to bring a fuller expression of Him to others through our own holy life-song.
It happens as we become still, intentioning our thoughts his direction, letting all the things that steal our breath to be acknowledged and surrendered to God. This “life-breath” fills us to capacity, allowing us to function the way we were meant to function. Joy and life are restored. Energy come back, fresh perspectives emerge – ones that reflect the benevolent, grace-filled nature of GOD. Yes, pausing to exhale and inhale is a good thing!
It happens as we become still, intentioning our thoughts his direction, letting all the things that steal our breath to be acknowledged and surrendered to God. This “life-breath” fills us to capacity, allowing us to function the way we were meant to function. Joy and life are restored. Energy come back, fresh perspectives emerge – ones that reflect the benevolent, grace-filled nature of GOD. Yes, pausing to exhale and inhale is a good thing!
There are many well-meaning Christian advisers who misinform the broader Christian community about "contemplation" saying it is about emptying one's mind into nothing... and to stay far away from it all. Well, I don't know if an empty mind is even possible! Our minds were never meant to be void. But we must be careful in this practice to consider our ability to distinguish God's voice from others, or even our own. Richard Foster offers these check points to guage if this a practice of prayer one might be ready for. 1. "Am I becoming less afraid of being known and owned by God?" 2. "Is prayer developing in me as a welcomed discipline?" 3. is it becoming easier for me to receive constructive criticsm?" 4. "Am I learning to move beyond personal offense and freely forgive those who have wronged me?" These are markers for growth that help us distinguish our heart posture. There are supernatural forces at play that are not Divine that will prey upon our unsurrenered soul (1 Pet 5:8) But as we surrender to the above, we discover the God is indeed greater than he that is in the world! ((1 John 4:4)
How about you? Does your soul feel breathless? Is your mind cluttered? Are your actions agitated and desperate, like someone scrambling for air?
If so, stop. Be still. Let yourself fall into quiet contemplation before the One who loves you deeply. Steady your gaze on Him. He is the one who gave Adam his first life-breath, and He will do the same for you.
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