On contemplation

Here I sit in my prayer room adding a post to my blog. Your prayer room you say. Yes, since our kids have moved out, we decided to dedicate some space in the house where we can go to contemplate, meditate and pray. It may sound weird but it has proved to be very beneficial

Listening to Jesus has been central to the prayer ministry that my wife and I have been engaged in for quite a few years now. Engaging in this ministry has led us deepen our personal relationship with Jesus. We discovered that this required setting aside time to be quiet and contemplate on Father, Son and Spirit and connect with Him in a deep personal place. This, in turn, has led us into integrating contemplation into our daily lives. We found that, for us, the best way to discover this was to begin seeing a spiritual director. This has been most beneficial. I guess I said all that to say that it was on the encouragement of my spiritual director that we made this space in our house dedicated to prayer. It was that and the fact that we had the room because our kids have all flown the coop. But that's another story for another time.

This room has been very helpful to helping me create a space where I can focus on the Lord and what He is saying to me, what He wants to do in me, and what He wants to do through me. I have carved the space and now I am learning to discipline myself to carve out the time. That, at least for me, is the hardest struggle, to set aside my busyness and take some time every day to stop and re-center myself on Jesus and His priorities. For me this has been the hardest and probably most rewarding journey in my life.

I feel that our lives would be more fulfilled and our relationships richer if we would just learn to stop for a time each day and focus on Jesus and the words He has for us. He wants to speak to us, our job is to look to Him and ask Him to open our ears to hear what He is saying. I don't believe that contemplation is for some who are specifically called to a deeper religious life. I really believe that this is something that is attainable for each person and that as we individually pursue a greater depth of relationship the impact on our world would be profound. I encourage you to talk to the Lord about this. You don't have to have a prayer room to do it just a desire to love the Lord and know the incredible love He has for you.

Blessings,

Glenn