The Secret Weapon: Contemplation

A transformed life is simply the accumulation of various adjustments that are usually small in nature and have taken place over a long period of time.

One of the key tools in the modern monastic's tool bag is contemplation. Contemplation is the spiritual practice of deeply observing and thinking about various things and events in our lives. We might contemplate about a challenging situation that just happened. Or about our attitude towards a certain person. Or about how a project we're working on is going. The list of things we can contemplate about can be endless.

The goal of contemplation is to "pay attention" to what's happening with us as followers of Christ as we live and serve in this broken world. We pay special attention to God, what God is doing, and how God is leading us in our discipleship. In contemplation, we give God space to speak to us through our observations, thoughts, and reflections. And as we pay attention to God, we get a better sense of where we must go or what we must do next to please Him with our lives.

Contemplation helps us make various micro-adjustments in how we live for Jesus. A transformed life is simply the accumulation of various adjustments that are usually small in nature and have taken place over a long period of time. Contemplation helps us pay close attention to ourselves—our attitudes, reactions, behaviors, and postures. It also helps us pay attention to God and what He desires for us. The act of contemplation enables us to think through how we might want to better live for Christ in our world. It's quite difficult to transform ourselves if we haven't reflected long enough on what exactly needs to change and how we are going to go about doing so.

For deep contemplation to occur, we need to give ourselves appropriate amounts of time and space to just sit down, observe, and think. Although there's some benefit in contemplating for just a few minutes at a time, there's even greater benefit when we contemplate for longer periods of time. We will have the opportunity to observe and think a little more deeply if we give ourselves more time for this spiritual practice.

Barnabas the Monastic

Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.