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Being raised in a Lutheran family, I am a little bit familiar with Jesus’s teachings on

prayer and the different forms of prayer. As a child, my family would go to church, and my sister

and I would attend weekly Sunday school and the annual vacation bible school. As I grew older,

life got busier, and we went to church less often. Since the pandemic, we don’t go to church at

all. While my family still says a blessing before dinner, I don’t really pray on my own. I would

say that I am more accustomed to the communal prayers that happen at church over something

like contemplative prayer.

Martin Laird states that the distractions associated with the first doorway of the present

moment are your thoughts and feelings. They are your active mind, your worries, and even just

boredom. Laird says that contemplative prayer requires the stillness of the body and mind, but

“This is precisely where we meet the struggle of the human condition: we cannot be still. Even if

the body can be still, the mind keeps racing like a runaway train.” (Laird 49-50) As a way to

manage these thoughts and active minds, people have used prayer words as a way to focus their

mind and tune out distractions. A common one is the Jesus Prayer “ Lord Jesus Christ, Son of

God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” which by some is shortened to a single word “Jesus.” (Laird

49) Other approaches to prayer words exist and have been used throughout history, but all of

them have the same purpose, to direct your attention away from those intrusive thoughts and

thoughts about those thoughts to keep the mind free and open to God. Laird also notes that a

prayer word is simply just another form of a mental distraction and using a prayer word keeps

the greater distractions at bay. This concept became clear to me when at the end of his

explanation about the first doorway he wrote:

“It is a subtle yet obvious passage, something like what happens to a pianist when
learning a new piece of music. At first it is awkward, stumbling and halting, but
with practice, practice and more practice, suddenly it becomes natural. The
awkwardness of self-consciousness is gone; the prayer word is becoming a place
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of refuge, and somehow quantity has become quality, as Franny put it in Franny
and Zooey.” (Laird 60)

It is a very simple message yet an important one. It reminds one that contemplative prayer is not

something that is easy to do. It requires practice and discipline. His analogy to playing the piano

is something I can relate to as I have taken years of piano lessons. It is not easy at first to play the

individual notes, but the effort (practice) is worthwhile when the notes become a music. Learning

something new is very difficult at first, but the only way to master a new skill is to keep trying,

failing, and trying again. This is a valuable life lesson: the art of patience and persistence.

Laura Swan, author of “Trappist Martyrs of Tibhirine, Algeria (d. 1996)” said that the

monks spent a lot of time discussing and contemplating on whether or not to stay in Tibhirine

during the civil war that faced the nation. The monks were aware of the possible danger they

were in, but they were also aware of the significance that their decision would have, not only to

themselves, but also to the communities in the area surrounding the monastery, to whom they

provided support through medical aid and charity. They believed that it was God’s wish for them

to continue their work in Tibhirine. Every year, in December, the monks would come together

and they “renewed the commitment among themselves to remain in Tibhirine.” (Swan 95) Even

after many offers of protection and moving the monks to safety, “they remained prayerfully

convinced that they were living where God desired them” (Swan 95) and they continued to stay

within the monastery.

In the film Of Gods and Men, the dinner scene right before the monks were captured,

helped me understand the effects of their contemplative lifestyle. Despite there being no words

spoken throughout the entire scene, I believe that it perfectly expresses the monks’ thoughts,

beliefs, and fears. The range of emotions shown on the monk’s faces, ranging from happiness, to

crying, to relief, truly revealed the difficult situation they were going through and the strength in
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the belief it required to remain at the monastery. In Father Christian’s Christmas Eve letter, he

wrote, “If one day the Algerians state that we are not welcome, we will respect their desire to see

us leave, although we would regret it deeply.” (Swan 96) I think this quote best explains the

benefits of the monks’ lifestyle. This quote shows how much the monks care about the

community around them. They stayed because they believe that it is the choice of God for them

to continue to help those around them, but they also respected the Algerians and would not stay

if they were not wanted. They chose to remain because the Algerians wanted them to stay.

After reading selections from the Gospels, Mark 1:35, clearly illustrates the need for

silent contemplation. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place,

where he prayed.” (Mk 1:35) This verse shows how much Jesus valued contemplative prayer and

the solitude and stillness it requires. He understood that he had to remove the distractions around

him in order to pray, to clear his mind, to rejuvenate and to refresh himself for the teachings he

was to give later that day.

The Gospels also offer insight for dealing with life’s worries. In Matthew 6:26-34, Jesus

explains that it is not necessary to waste time worrying about the things that God will take care

of if you have a relationship with Him. It speaks of not worrying about the future because despite

the plants and animals not planting crops and sewing clothing, the Lord provides for them.

“Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing
into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than
they?” (Mt 6:26)

A later verse clearly states that if you follow the Lord and his teachings, you need not worry

about your basic necessities, because the Lord will provide them for you. “But seek first the

kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” (Mt

6:33) I learned from reading the Gospel of Mark that Jesus valued meditation and contemplative
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prayer. Despite being only a single sentence, it puts a lot of emphasis on solitude during prayer.

Jesus himself went off in solitude free from distractions to pray. The Gospel of Matthew stuck

with me much more. The idea that nature gets by without worrying about the future puts your

own worries into perspective and helps temper them. Even from a purely non-religious angle,

there is much to gain from reading this passage. Many people have troubles with anxiety, and

reading this could maybe help some of them. Even the realization that people thousands of years

ago were dealing with these issues and they were seen as so important that Jesus spoke about it is

interesting to ponder. The last verse of this Gospel is my favorite, “Do not worry about

tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” (Mt 6:34) This

is saying that you shouldn’t worry about tomorrow, because today has enough to endure.

This project helped me understand how Jesus’ teachings help people today make difficult

decisions and stop dwelling on future troubles. The monks made possibly one of the most

difficult decisions I have ever seen, but through their faith in God and Jesus’ teachings they

managed to come up with a decision and stand by it. 2000 years ago Jesus taught the lessons of

kindness, compassion, and relying on God for strength. This continues to be relevant nowadays

and is something very interesting to have learned. I really enjoyed reading Matthew 6:26-34. The

lesson it instils is one I think many people would benefit from hearing. It teaches you to focus on

today and yourself which is something that could serve me well during stressful times.