In this issue of Conversations Journal from the fall of 2006, our authors explore the topic of contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer is the experience of being “in Christ.” As David Benner offers in his foundational article for this issue, Being with God: The Practice of Contemplative Prayer, contemplation literally means abiding with God. For those of you who are more visually inclined, we invite you to spend some time meditating on Jan Vermeer’s Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, in this reflection by Juliet Benner.
We hope you will enjoy this issue on contemplative prayer. It offers a variety of voices describing this experiential way of prayer as deepening receptivity to an awareness of the mystery of being in Christ.