Silent Prayer – A Path to Meditation and Contemplation

Silent prayer can be defined as meditation, but a meditation focused on Mystery, God, or Higher Power.  Silent prayer is to empty ourselves of all concerns, burdens, activities, and thoughts that can distract us and let God speak to us in our hearts.  In order to set the proper tone, there can be a brief opening prayer and/or reading and reflection on a brief scriptural passage. 

Approximately 3-5 minutes of silence after the opening prayer (an individual should start at 3-5 minutes and gradually increase the time spent to 20 minutes or more as they become more practiced). 

Invariably, distractions or sleepiness will enter in.  It is important not to struggle too much against these interruptions but to allow them to pass through your consciousness until they no longer hold sway over your mind/soul.  It may take many sessions for this to occur.  A mantra (i.e., a sacred word), deep breathing, or focus on a sacred image may be helpful in overcoming distractions as well.

Note: If distraction or thoughts tend to the depressive, overly negative, or the dark side, the individual should seek help from a minister, spiritual director, or another professional counselor familiar with meditative practice and the contemplative way.

If desired, at the end of the period of silence, the individual may wish to offer prayers for others or continue with a more traditional form of prayer. It is best to continue to use other forms of prayer and ritual that the individual may be accustomed to and to integrate silent prayer with these.  Contemplative prayer can only heighten the experience of religious practice.

Prayer before meditation

• God, I place myself in YOUR presence, to open myself to hear YOU
• Lord, I remove all barriers that interfere with our direct relationship 
• God, let me lose “self” and love of self in the vastness of YOUR LOVE
• Lord, I turn within to find YOU, WHO resides at the center of my being

Short term benefits of silent prayer

• Increased focus and concentration
• Release from burdens and distractions
• Calmness in crises or emotional situations
• Adds spiritual balance to life’s activities
• Distraction from pain and increased healing power

Long term benefits of silent prayer

• Self-knowledge of “who I am” without deception
• Continual renewal and contact with God (daily and in the moment)
• Ever deepening relationship with God, growth in the personal relationship to God
• Receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Continual sense of the peace of God’s love
• Infused spirit of God’s love through union with God (no longer separate) – contemplation

Click to view Open Your Heart Meditation