The Heartbeat of Prayer
My first visit to a monastery was in 1962, as a member of a church history class at the seminary in which I was enrolled as a student at the time. When I saw the monastic enclosure I was hooked! I had never been a in a place where all of the people there had one basic intent: to live as closely to God as possible. Even years later, when I was a member of a seminary faculty, I did not experience that same deep, pervasive sense of common call and spirituality. But I certainly did on that rather weary fall afternoon. It was not surprising when much later, as a professor at a theological school, I taught a class each year for twenty years on some aspect of monastic spirituality. I was not trying to persuade my students to become monks, I wasn't one myself, but rather to help students "catch the spirit" of monastic prayer. I thought it would be really helpful as they pursued their own distinctive calling in Christ's ministry.
But what is this monastic prayer? Well, read the description below by Thomas Merton, one of the most respected monastic writers on the life of prayer and see what you find. Remember, he is describing prayer as he understands it in a monastery. We will have to adjust it a bit to see that what Merton says is actually descriptive of plain old Christianity, monastic or not. Ready? Merton writes,
Farm labor is the monk's support, and the ordinary thing is for all the monks to work outdoors for five or six hours a day. When they are not working, or praying in choir [chanting the Psalms], the monks devote their time to reading, meditation, contemplative prayer. The whole day is supposed eventually to become a prolonged prayer in which the monk remains united with God through all his occupations.
This is the real purpose of the monastic life: a more or less habitual state of simple prayer and union with God which varies in intensity at different times of the day, which finds a particular and proper rhythm in the life of each individual, and which brings the soul of the monk at all times under the direct and intimate influence of God's action.
That is a rather long quote so please go back and read the part in italics. That is the concept we want to work with. Done? Okay. Now, if you take the words "monastic" and "monk" out of the sentence in italics above and replace them with "Christian" the sentence reads like this:
This is the real purpose of the Christian life: a more or less habitual state of simple prayer and union with God which varies in intensity at different times of the day, which finds a particular and proper rhythm in the life of each individual, and which brings the soul of the Christian at all times under the direct and intimate influence of God's action.
Isn't that good? Don't you find that description helpful in looking at your own life with God? Doesn't that describe what you hope for as a Christian? It certainly does for me.
Let's pull this sentence apart just a bit and see what we find in it. Merton says our life with God, which we enter by faith, is a "more or less habitual state of simple prayer." This is to say what we already know, that is, our life in God is a constant reality, whether we "feel" it or not. And because we know that God is our Father and Lord, we are always open to Him. If you are married, you are married all the time. If we are "in Christ", we are "in Christ" all the time. This is actually very simple. How many times a day do you think of God, or praise Him for something, or ask Him a question? Sure. We do this all the time, more or less without thinking about it; this is to say that we live a life of simple union with God which is at the same time a simple life of prayer. It is really not complicated, although in the depth of such prayer remains a mystery.
Merton says our life in God "varies" during the day, in that sometimes we think specifically about God and at other times we don't. Many of us have times in the morning when we read Scripture, think on what we have read, and offer prayers. This may happen at other times during the day, though maybe not with the same intensity. And we may pray before going to sleep. We also may recognize God's presence in some event or conversation. Oh, Sunday is a big day! We have public Sunday class time and worship. We are really focused then! You see, we are not equally aware of God all the time though we are His children all the time and He is watching over us all the time.
The really important word in Merton's sentence for me is "rhythm." Each of us can have a "rhythm" of spiritual concern, sometimes intense, sometimes not. As a patient in the hospital we are often hooked up to a heart monitor. That monitor tells the staff if our heart is in rhythm, that is, if it is beating regularly. If the monitor shows wild swings of heartbeat, that sends a signal for nurses to watch the patient carefully, until a rhythm is once again established. It is important to note that my spiritual rhythm may not look like your rhythm. It is not important that we do the same things at the same time, but that each of us establishes a more or less regular rhythm of reading, praise, and prayer, of doing good to others. Think of rhythm as singing in a choir (even if you are like me and can't sing!). The more we train ourselves to sing our part the easier and more natural it becomes, and when we do what we are supposed to do the whole choir sounds good. This is a little bit like spiritual life.
What does all this mean? Well, the practical result of our daily life of prayer,
whatever its shape, is that "at all times [we are] under the direct and intimate influence of God's action." Just as we are someone's daughter or son, someone's wife or husband, we are God's child all the time, that is, we are under God's "direct and intimate influence." Doesn't that sound wonderful? Doesn't that bring a little more peace to your heart to know that God is always working on your behalf, always seeking your good, and that He will bring about a final good for you in the full kingdom of His love, His heaven? Our daily prayers are really important, establishing a rhythm of prayerful concern is a Christian's real life. Only when we are empowered by prayer can we reach out to others and help them face their day.
I think I need to go on another retreat at a monastery. I have often done that in the past. It helps me to sit in the sanctuary and listen to the monks chant the Psalms, and their other prayers and songs. I do not have to join in and sing with them, although I am permitted to do that. I often prefer to let their chants and prayers carry me along, if you know what I mean. Our lives are so busy that we need times when we allow sisters and brothers to carry us with their prayers and songs. I told Ruth, my wife, that I need to schedule another retreat. "That's like a moving sidewalk for you," she remarked. Yes, it is. It is like stepping on the people mover in the airport concourses, resting a minute, while the belt-the sidewalk-carries you part of the way on your journey. During a retreat I let the monks' rhythm of prayer become mine, and just carry me along. You see, for me, listening to my brother monks chant "the Hours" (their daily rhythm) helps me with my spiritual rhythm, and to continually realize that my life in God is prayer and that our Father is always listening.
Jerry L. Mercer
|
