From Brant Pitre’s book “Introduction to the Spiritual Life,” chapters 1-3.
Have you ever thought much about how you pray? Until not long ago I thought prayer was either 1) saying prayers at mass along with my fellow parishioners. or 2) saying prayers privately in my mind. Dr. Pitre explains that there are three types of prayer, all with roots in the Bible.
First is Vocal prayer (chapter 1) in which we use “words to communicate with God.” We may say these words aloud or we may say them quietly so no one hears us. What is important is that we speak from the heart as it is “the seat of emotions; …of memories, thoughts, and decisions.” So we should say words that we mean. Vocal prayer includes memorized prayers and also prayers that use our own words. It is important to place ourselves in God’s presence so that our minds do not wander.
Meditation (chapter 2), the second form, is “praying with the mind.” We do this by reading and reflecting on God’s word with the goal of transforming our hearts. Dr. Pitre describes examples from the Old and New Testaments to show that thinking about God’s word daily is how we grow our love for God. By writing his words in our heart, we are able to produce spiritual fruits as we follow Jesus more closely.
The third form, Contemplation (chapter 3), is described as spending time with God “to be in his presence, to listen to his voice, and to seek his ‘face.’” There is no need to say, do, or think about anything, only to simply “look” at him. Dr. Pitre discusses how the Lord spoke to Moses as how a man speaks to his friend, and how God spoke to Elijah in “sheer silence” — transcending human words. Contemplation is the “gaze of love between the soul and God.” It “has the power to change us” because when we spend time with someone we love, we become more like them.
Pitre, B. (2021). Introduction to the Spiritual Life. Image.
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