Going on a Journey

Session 5 Notes-1

SESSION 5  ·  TEACHING DOCUMENT

Contemplative Prayer & Lectio Divina

Ancient Practices for Modern Believers

Class Description

In our final session, we return to the interior practice that makes everything else possible. We explore what the Christian tradition calls contemplative prayer — the practice of being with God in receptive silence — and the ancient practice of lectio divina: the slow, prayerful reading of Scripture not for information but for encounter. We will see how these practices are not additions to the Nouwen framework but its very heartbeat — the source of the solitude that enables community and makes service sustainable. This session equips participants with concrete, practical tools to carry into their daily lives, and ends with a commissioning: not the completion of a course, but the beginning of a lifelong rhythm.

Specific Goals for This Class
  • Define contemplative prayer and distinguish it from other forms of prayer (petition, intercession, thanksgiving).
  • Explain the ancient practice of lectio divina — its four movements — and how to practice it.
  • Practice lectio divina together as a group.
  • Understand the Jesus Prayer as a breath prayer that can be integrated into daily life.
  • Connect these practices to Nouwen’s framework of Solitude, Community, and Service.
  • Develop a simple, realistic personal plan for carrying these practices forward after the course ends.
Opening Discussion Questions

(Use these to begin class — allow 5–7 minutes of open discussion before teaching)

Question 1
Over the past four weeks, has your practice of prayer changed in any way — even slightly? Has something opened up, or has something become more difficult? What have you noticed?
Question 2
What has been your previous experience of prayer? Has it primarily felt like a transaction — bringing requests to God and waiting for answers — or has there been something more, something like genuine encounter or interior quiet? What has shaped those experiences?

Teaching Outline

I. The Course in Retrospect (8 minutes)
  • Brief review of all four previous sessions — the spiral, not the staircase: Solitude (discovering the Beloved identity), Community (creating free space through genuine hospitality), and Service (the Wounded Healer, service from brokenness).
  • Where participants started, and where they are now: not finished, but reoriented.
  • The question this session addresses: how do we actually sustain the interior life that Nouwen describes? What are the specific practices that open us to transformation?
  • Nouwen’s answer: the contemplative tradition of the church — particularly the practice of lectio divina and the Jesus Prayer — provides the most accessible and sustainable set of interior practices available to ordinary believers.
II. What Is Contemplative Prayer? (10 minutes)
  • Defining terms: the word contemplation (from the Latin contemplatio — attentive beholding) refers to a form of prayer that is primarily receptive rather than active.

Distinguishing it from other forms of prayer:

  • Petition and intercession: bringing requests to God. Active, verbal, focused on specific outcomes.
    • Thanksgiving and praise: expressing gratitude or adoration. Active, expressive.
    • Meditation: reflecting on the meaning of Scripture or doctrine. Cognitively active.
    • Contemplative prayer: being with God in receptive silence. The movement is from speaking to listening, from active engagement to receptive openness.
Contemplative prayer is the prayer in which we stand in the presence of God with open hands. — Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart
  • Why this form of prayer matters for Nouwen’s framework: it is in this receptive silence that the Beloved identity is formed and confirmed. We cannot think our way into feeling loved — but we can create the interior space in which God’s love can be experienced.

Common Misconceptions

  • “It is emptying the mind.” Contemplative prayer is not about emptying the mind, but about directing attention toward God. The mind will wander; that is normal.
  • “It is only for monks and mystics.” Nouwen insists this practice is for ordinary believers, accessible within the rhythms of daily life — not an esoteric specialty.
  • “It must produce a feeling of God’s presence.” The fruit of contemplative prayer is often invisible and slow. The absence of a feeling is not the absence of formation.
III. Lectio Divina: The Four Movements (12 minutes)

Lectio divina — “sacred reading” — is an ancient practice of prayerfully engaging Scripture, traditionally described in four movements:

  • Lectio (Read): Read the passage slowly, attentively — listening for a word or phrase that stands out.
  • Meditatio (Reflect): Sit with that word or phrase. What does it stir? Why might it have caught your attention?
  • Oratio (Respond): Speak to God from what has surfaced — in gratitude, request, confession, or simple presence.
  • Contemplatio (Rest): Let go of words. Simply rest in God’s presence, without needing to produce anything further.
  • The same short passage can be used for all four movements — they are not mechanical steps to complete, but a natural rhythm: read, reflect, respond, rest.
IV. Practicing Lectio Divina Together (10 minutes)

Lead the class through a live practice using Psalm 46:10.

Be still, and know that I am God. — Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)
  1. Read the passage aloud slowly (Lectio). Notice the word or phrase that draws your attention.
  2. Sit in silence for one minute (Meditatio). Let that word or phrase settle.
  3. In silence, offer a brief response to God — in your own heart (Oratio).
  4. Rest in silence for a final minute, without needing to do anything further (Contemplatio).
  5. Facilitator note: read the passage aloud slowly, twice. Lead the class through the four movements with real silence between each — resist the urge to fill the silence with talking. A full minute of silence will feel longer than expected; that discomfort is part of the learning.
V. The Jesus Prayer: A Breath Prayer for Daily Life (8 minutes)
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. — the Jesus Prayer
  • The phrase “have mercy on me, a sinner” echoes the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:13. There is nothing in the prayer that is not faithful to Scripture and the apostolic faith.
  • A practical note: you can introduce the Jesus Prayer simply as a breath prayer — a brief phrase that can be offered throughout the day, in any activity, as a way of maintaining interior attentiveness to God. You need not give it its traditional name if that creates unnecessary distraction.
  • Its value is its brevity and portability: it can be prayed while driving, washing dishes, or waiting in line — keeping the heart oriented toward God across the ordinary moments of the day.
VI. A Simple, Realistic Personal Plan (7 minutes)

Give participants a few quiet minutes to write brief, honest — not aspirational — answers to the following:

  • Solitude: when and where, this week, will you set aside even five minutes for silence?
  • Lectio Divina: choose one short passage (a Psalm, a Gospel saying). When will you read it slowly this week?
  • The Jesus Prayer: pick one daily activity (driving, dishes, walking) where you will pray this breath prayer.
  • Community & Service: who is one person you will offer presence to — not advice or activity — this week?
  • Remind the class: fruitfulness, not success, is the goal. Success is visible, measurable, and confirming. Fruitfulness is often invisible, slow, and occurs in ways we may never know. A small, sustainable commitment is far more valuable than an ambitious one that is abandoned within a week.
Desired Learning Outcomes
  • Define contemplative prayer and explain how it differs from other forms of prayer.
  • Describe the four movements of lectio divina and demonstrate the practice.
  • Practice the Jesus Prayer and integrate it into at least one aspect of daily life.
  • Complete a simple, realistic, written personal plan for sustaining practices of solitude, community, and service.
  • Articulate how contemplative prayer sustains the entire Solitude-Community-Service framework.
Applicable Quotes from Nouwen
Prayer is not a pious decoration of life but the breath of human existence. — Henri J.M. Nouwen, With Open Hands
The discipline of the heart makes us aware that praying is not primarily talking to God but rather listening to God’s word… In prayer we are called first to listen with receptive hearts. — Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart
When we pray, we enter into the presence of God. But we must be willing to wait. The most important things happen not when we are doing something, but when we are being something. — Henri J.M. Nouwen, Making All Things New
End-of-Class Summary

Tonight we returned to the heartbeat of everything this course has explored: contemplative prayer and lectio divina. We defined contemplative prayer as receptive presence with God — not emptying the mind, not reserved for specialists, and not measured by feeling. We practiced lectio divina together, slowly reading and resting in Psalm 46:10, and learned the Jesus Prayer as a portable breath prayer for ordinary moments. Finally, each of us wrote a simple, realistic plan — not a new set of techniques, but a commitment to carry the rhythm of Solitude, Community, and Service forward. The course ends here, but the journey — a lifelong spiral, not a staircase — continues.

Suggested Implementation: Going Forward
  • Carry out the personal plan written in class this week: a time and place for solitude, a passage for lectio divina, an activity for the Jesus Prayer, and a person to offer presence to.
  • Consider continuing to meet — even informally — with one or two others from this class, to encourage one another in these practices over the coming months.
  • Revisit Life of the Beloved periodically as a touchstone, returning to the truth that grounds everything: “You are My beloved.”
Application & Self-Evaluation Questions
  • As you reflect on the five weeks of this course: what has shifted — even slightly — in how you understand the Christian life, prayer, or service? What has been most surprising or most challenging?
  • What has been your experience with the practice of silence over these five weeks? What did you encounter that you did not expect? What resistance or restlessness did you notice?
  • Of the two practices we explored today — lectio divina and the Jesus Prayer — which feels more accessible to you in your current life rhythm? What would it look like to practice it consistently over the next month?
  • Nouwen says that fruitfulness — not success — is the goal. Success is visible, measurable, and confirming. Fruitfulness is often invisible, slow, and occurs in ways we may never know. How does that distinction free you — or challenge you — as you think about the service to which you are called?