Contemplative prayer is one of the oldest forms of prayer, which can be traced to the Desert Fathers of early Christianity and monasticism. It can be found in the Orthodox church as Hesychasm (which is derived from the Greek hesychia, "stillness, rest, quiet, silence). The Roman Catholics are also familiar with contemplative prayer, such as the use of lectio divina, or Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises.
The concept of Hesychasm rose from Jesus Christ's injunction in Matthew 6:5-6 to "go into your closet to pray", which can be said to be a process of looking inward by ignoring the distractions of the senses, to achieve a closer walk with God.
The important thing to know is that as Psalm 46:10 mentioned, stillness is an important condition, one which presents an encouraging environment to know God. Often, in a busy, hurried existence, we are trapped by life's many distractions, temptations, noises, colors, tastes, and other sensory bombardments, that we ignore the notion of going inward in stillness and silence and reflect on the Word of God.
For daily prayer and contemplation, we tend to use the Orthodox Study Bible (preferred), translations of the Septuagint, the King James Version with Apocrypha, or the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible (DRC, since it is public domain). We also frequently refer to, and contemplate on, the Didache (writings of the 12 Apostles of Christ), the early Church Fathers, Desert Fathers, Apostolic Fathers, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox saints and their writings, such as the Philokalia and The Way of a Pilgrim (Откровенные рассказы странника духовному своему отцу). For daily prayer, we use the common Eastern Orthodox daily family prayer, or the Prayer of the Heart (Jesus Prayer).
Pre-Nicene Studies
We hope to study and contemplate together, thoughts of the early Church fathers (pre-Nicene or Ante-Nicene) (John 4:23-24, 1 Cor 11:23-26, Acts 17:22-24).
Pre-Nicene (or Ante-Nicene) period of Christianity is the period of Christian practice and thought right up to 325 AD. During this period, the early Church fathers (Ante-Nicene Fathers), wrote many things, which were compiled into 10 volumes (the last volume being indexes). You can download and read them at Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Some of the books include:
• V1 - Apostolic fathers, including Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Barnabas, Hermas, Epistle to Diognetus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and the Didache.
• V2 - 2nd century fathers, including Tatian, Theophilus of Antioch, Athenagoras of Athens, and Clement of Alexandria.
• V3 - Latin Christianity with Tertullian.
• V4, 5 & 6 - 3rd century fathers, including Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen, Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Sextus Julius Africanus, Anatolius, Methodius of Olympus, and Arnobius.
• V7 & 8 - 3rd & 4th century fathers, including Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus of Pettau, Dionysius of Corinth, Apostolic Constitutions, Homily, Liturgies, Liturgy of Saint James, Testaments of the 12 Patriarches, The Clementia, Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac Documents, Remnants of First Ages, Decretals, and Apocrypha (Gospel of Thomas), Pseudo-Clementine literature (Recognition of Clement, Clementine Homilies, Epistle of Peter to James).
• V9 - Origen and more, including Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron of Tatian, Apocalypse of Peter, Visio Pauli, Apocalypse of the Virgin and Sedrach, Testament of Abraham, Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, Narrative of Zosimus, Apology of Aristides, Epistles of Clement, Origen's commentary on John and Matthew.
• V10 - Indexes.
Other Christian Reading
We will be adding Orthodox writings, of the early church fathers, and other patristic texts, and modern Orthodox authors, here.
* Orthodox Study Bible, St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, Thomas Nelson.
* My Daily Orthodox Prayer Book, edited by Anthony Coniaris, Light & Life.
* The Orthodox Way, Bishop Kallistos Ware, St Vladimir's Seminary Press.
* Encountering the Mystery, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Doubleday.
* The Art of Prayer - An Orthodox Anthology, compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo, Faber & Faber.
* A Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.
* Theosis: Partaking of the Divine Nature, Mark Shuttleworth, Conciliar Press.
* The Dark Night of the Soul, St John of the Cross, Christian Classic.
* Listening for the Heartbeat of God - A Celtic Spirituality, J. Philip Newell, Paulist Press.
* Exploring the Book of Kells, George Otto Simms, O'Brien.
* The Celtic Way of Prayer - The Recovery of the Religious Imagination, Esther De Waal, Doubleday.
* The Open Door - Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Paraclete Press.
* Philokalia - The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts, Annotation by Allyne Smith, SkyLight Illuminations.
* The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, Vladimir Lossky, St Vladimir's Seminary Press.
* On the Prayer of Jesus (the classic guide to the practice of unceasing prayer as found in The Way of a Pilgrim, Ignatius Brianchaninov, New Seeds.
* The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way, translated by Olga Savin, Shambala Classics.
* Prayer of the Heart - The Contemplative Tradition of the Christian East, George Maloney SJ, Ave Maria Press.
* Raising Lazarus - Integral Healing in Orthodox Christianity, edited by Stephen Muse, Holy Cross Orthodox Press.
* Orthodox Spirituality - A Brief Introduction, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos, Birth of the Theotokos Monastery.