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Among early Greek Orthodox contemplative theologians is the oft description of God as "enclosed" and "not enclosed." "God" refers to One enclosing everything, but Itself unenclosed. We are in God, and God is in us--see, we are not God, for God encloses us. God is not enclosed by us, while God encloses us.
Therefore, the Prayer of the Heart is means beyond conventional verbal prayer. The Prayer of the Heart uses a sacred word or phrase to lead us into the Inner Sanctum. When in this Most Holy Place, we abide in contemplation (lit., being in the Temple), which, generally, leads us to Passive Prayer. In Passive Prayer we are receptive to the mysterious, inner operations of the Spirit; we no longer use words or thought--though these mentally arise, for contemplation does not annihilate mind--and rest dispassionately, for we are no longer attaching even to positive feelings--though we can enjoy them in contemplation. Here, we are in the Holy Sabbath, existing before time and timelessly in time.
So, in the Prayer of the Heart, we find a progression of will. First, mind enters by will into heart. Then, enlightened heart, enters by transformed will into Inner Sanctum, where is Harmony of reason and feeling in God. But the concept, or idea, "God" is not, for all images are idols when equated with Reality. Rather, in God all images find Harmony in imageless Bliss, and in Christ Jesus, the Word, who brings all from the Father into being and in Whom we return to the Father, by the operations of She Who Is the Holy Spirit--the Bride of the Father and Word, Who weds us to the Only Father and Only Generated Son.
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Suggestion for Meditation:How do you see yourself growing into a deeper, more pervasive awareness of the Presence of God?
*OneLife writings are offered by Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist pastor serving in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He writes in the spirit of John Wesley's focus on the priority of inner experience of the Triune God; scriptural holiness; ongoing sanctification; the goal of Christian perfection (or, wholeness). Brian seeks to integrate the best of the contemplative teachings of Christianity East and West, from the patristic Church to the present. Brian lives a vowed contemplative life with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, in North Florida. OneLife writings are for anyone seeking to live and share love, joy, and peace in the world and in devotion to God as she or he best understands God.
*Brian's book An Ache for Union, a book of poems on mystical union with God through love, can be ordered through major on-line booksellers or your local bookstore.
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