"The flow of energy in prayer is the womb of love; it becomes the source of every desire, thought, word, and action. In other words, prayer changes the way we live. It is an ongoing process of transformation," writes David Keller, the cofounder and director of The Contemplative Ministry Project; he teaches Christian meditation in Roman Catholic and Episcopal retreat centers throughout the United States and England. This view of prayer touches upon the fundamental ways of seeing and experiencing God: the rational (using the mind), the physical (using the body), and the interior or mystical (using the silent language of the heart).
Keller is convinced that the essence of the Christian path is "learning to manifest the presence of God, who is already within us, through our manner of life." Part of this process is opening ourselves to the dance of grace and part of it is caring for our souls. Or as the mystic Evelyn Underhill put it: "A real man or woman of prayer should be a live wire, a link between God's grace and the world that needs it."
Since Keller is unabashedly Christian he looks to Jesus' life of prayer and finds quiet listening, faithful discernment, and compassionate response. He goes on to discuss the bounties of contemplation and meditation. Contemplation grows in the seedbed of what Raimon Panikkar has called the Discipline of the Three Silences: the silence of the intellect, the silence of the will, and the silence of action. Keller concludes with a look at three aspects of prayer that many have found to be difficult:
1. "Trusting that something is happening and that it is worth the effort.
2. "Taking the risk of being transformed and letting go of control of the outcome.
3. "Accepting the responsibilities and challenges of our transformed life and intimacy with God."
