Christian mystic is a term used to describe William of St. Thierry (1075? -1148). Mystic is a slippery, vacuous word. For the record, it’s not a synonym for people who do weird things in the name of God. Christian mystics are people who seek direct experiential union with God. They do not simply want to know about God; they aspire to know God in the heart, in the realm of personal experience.
William became abbot of St. Thierry in France in 1119 AD. He brought much-needed reform to the monastery yet was tired of his ecclesiastical duties. He resigned his post to pursue a contemplative life. Younger monks sought him out for counsel and direction in cultivating a spiritual life. He wrote Meditations in response to these numerous requests from novice monks. As I read his Meditations, the close interplay between Scripture and prayer stood out. His motive in coupling Scripture and prayer was not informational; it was formational. He sought through Word and prayer to be formed into the likeness of Christ. His deep immersion in Scripture became the catalyst for full engagement in prayer.
One meditation centered on the verse, “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4.19). We love in response to God’s love for us. He wrote, “You love us so that we might love you, not because you needed our love but because we would not be what you created us to be, except by loving you.”
You don’t need to live in a monastery to engage in this type of spiritual reading. Why not read 1 John 4.7-21 slowly and reflectively as a prelude to today’s prayer? Meditate on its words and be on the lookout for phrases that stand out to you. Listen for God’s word in Scripture. Ask God to speak to you through his Word: