Through the continual practice of contemplative prayer, we become increasingly who we truly are.
Vigilance is one of the most important disciplines practiced in the spiritual life. This is not the worldly vigilance to guard our homes or our families, though these are prudent things to do.
In the spiritual context, vigilance is about guarding the thoughts that come from outside sources or rise from within our individual human experience. These are the ruminations that so often affect our moods and state of being. In particular, we are directed to defend ourselves against the assault of thoughts that can disturb our hearts.
With all vigilance guard your heart,
for in it are the sources of life.
(Proverbs 4:23)
Our minds are extremely active; the average person has at least 12,000 individual thoughts every day. And these run the gamut from ideas that inspire and console, to thoughts that cause us fear and anxiety. But none of these thoughts represent the truth of our individual human condition.
Our thoughts, be they good or bad, whether from external sources or borne of our life experiences, never represent a true picture of reality. The only truth about our lives is what God knows to be the truth about us and His plan for us. Everything else is just a distortion or what the theologian Martin Laird calls the mental clutter of the false self.
Our efforts at growing spiritually are not largely about what we acquire, develop, create, or gain. Progress in spirituality is more about what we get rid of, all that mental clutter that we have picked up along the way and then scattered throughout our lives.
Each and every one of us were created in the image of God. However, multiple negative influences in our lives, coupled with our own bad decisions, have left our hearts and our minds cluttered with perspectives about ourselves that are simply not true. In order for us to regain a perspective grounded in the truth, we must begin by defending ourselves against the onslaught of false thinking.
For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
This is the battle we call prayer, most especially what we refer to as contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer, what St. Augustine referred to as a humble surrender to God’s Will, gives us the capacity to declutter our false selves and begin to transform ourselves through the fulfillment of God’s will for our lives.
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
The practice of contemplative prayer must become our daily routine, what in Latin is referred to as a habitus. This definition speaks of a disposition, specifically, a disposition of the heart. We must dispose ourselves to be in a constant state of awareness of God working in our lives. This is what it means to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Just as the person desiring to play a musical instrument practices every day, we must engage in daily prayer. It is in this way our hearts will learn to play the melody of joy and consolation our Lord promised us.
But we not only need to capture every thought and conform it to the Lord, we must also fill our minds with only what will give hope and beauty to our life.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)
This is not to be understood as flowery thinking, or worse yet, adopting a deliberate naïve perspective on life. Rather, it is about filling our minds and hearts with the truth. And the truth is that through the continual practice of contemplative prayer, we become increasingly who we truly are.
To live this reality, we must learn to continually direct our thoughts to the words, images and ideas God has provided for our spiritual nourishment and growth.
Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit in company with scoffers.
Rather, the law of the Lord is his joy;
and on his law he meditates day and night.
(Psalm 1:1-2)
Copyright © 2025, Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit: "Praying Woman," Francesco Hayez, Public domain, via WikiArt