Ruth Haley Barton is the former associate director of spiritual formation at Willow Creek Community Church. Here's what she says about
contemplative prayer:

"Ask for a simple prayer to express your willingness to meet God in the silence … a simple statement …such as "Here I am." … Help yourself return to your original intent by repeating the prayer that you have chosen." —Ruth Haley Barton Quotes taken from Discipleship Journal Vol. 113 1999

What Is She Doing Now That She Has Left Willow Creek Community Church?

She Is Founder of the
The Transforming Center

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Quotes from Barton's Followers

"Ruth Haley Barton's Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence, is a good first step in this direction. She presents contemplative prayer in a manner that most evangelicals will be comfortable with." Theocentric "Ruth Haley Barton, who studied spiritual direction at the well-respected Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, makes it clear that An Ordinary Day With Jesus is not a drive through experience, but the embodying of ancient disciplines and practices that can revolutionize our lives, over the slow, long haul." Byron Borger

From Her Own Mouth

"A few years ago, I began to recognize an inner chaos in my soul . . . No matter how much I prayed, read the Bible, and listened to good teaching, I could not calm the internal roar created by questions with no answers." "Beyond Words:Experience God's presence in silence and solitude " "I sought out a spiritual director, someone well versed in the ways of the soul … eventually this wise woman said to me, … ‘What you need is stillness and silence so that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear.’ … I decided to accept this invitation to move beyond my addiction to words."