037: Contemplative Prayer – Episode 1 of 3

All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace.

–Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

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I find it fascinating that when Jesus speaks of eternal life, it's less often about a specific time or place where we transition into some other state of being and more often about a quality of life—robust, deep vitality—that is being made available to us, right here and right now. He offers this invitation to a rich young man who has found his trust in things of this world. (1) He regularly teaches the thirsty that the Kingdom of God is at hand. (2) He leans into this idea on the night of his betrayal and abandonment by the men closest to him.

In intercession for these same friends and for us, he cries out to his Father, "The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you." (3)

If deep, whole-person union with God is the invitation and inheritance of Christianity, what are the means by which we respond to this invitation? How exactly do we go about entering into this union?

Join my wife, Cherie, and me as we explore some deep waters in part one of a three-part podcast series on the practice of contemplative prayer. Our hope is that together we can recover one of the greatest means of deeper union—and through it, deeper life—embedded in the rich history of God’s people through the ages.

(1) Matt. 19:16-30

(2) Matt. 3:2

(3) John 17:21 MSG

If you'd like to go deeper, here's one resource that helped launch our journey into centering prayer: Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating.