WHAT IS CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER?

Contemplative prayer can be traced back to 3^rd century monks who were looking for ways to contact God by mystical techniques. Such prayer methods are making a comeback. Will Christians be enlightened or will they be introduced to eastern mysticism?

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What is contemplative prayer? Here is how one promoter defined it:

Contemplative prayer in its simplest form, is prayer in which you still your thoughts… This puts you in a better state to be aware of God’s presence, and it makes you better able to hear God’s voice correcting, guiding and directing you. [1]

If that definition sounds beneficial to one’s spiritual well-being consider another explanation that provides a even clearer understanding:

It’s practitioners are trained to focus on an inner symbol that quiets the mind… When practitioners become skilled at this method of meditation, they undergo a deep trance state similar to auto-hypnosis. [2]

Contemplative prayer is making a big comeback. First discovered by monks in the 3^rd century who isolated themselves in desert monasteries, you can now find practioners and promoters in many evangelical churches.

Brian Flynn, in his book Running With the Wind, provides interesting background to where the technique came from and how widely it is being accepted today. Quoting from his book:

Perhaps the Desert Fathers either came into contact with someone from the East who shared these practices with them, or maybe they stumbled across it themselves. Whatever its origin, this heretical practice has entered our churches virtually unopposed.

    The first form of monasticism was practiced by the hermit. (In Greek the word means desert). The first hermit was St. Anthony, a revered Egyptian monk who moved away from society and into the desert around 270 AD (3^rd century). Many followed St. Anthony’s lifestyle and also became hermits. Nearly 80 years later the first monastery was built. This brought the hermits together under one roof rather than each of them living alone in the desert. [3]

I find reading historical information like this fascinating. Finding out what occurred in the past helps me to understand the present. You see, the Bible tells us there is nothing new under the sun. Furthermore, this idea we need to go back to the past and find what “Christian experiences” were effective and then re-introduce them into the present, is the central theme of the “Emerging Church.”

Just a few days before reading Flynn’s historical account on the origin of contemplative prayer I read an article about the “Emerging Church” published in a magazine put out by the Briercrest Bible College in Saskatchewan, Canada. In this article I read:

Ancient practices that seem to have spiritual significance for emergent people are often found in the third century, the turn of the first millennium, or the drama of worship in the Middle Ages. [4] 

The author of the article was not against this idea - he was for it. You see many are saying in order to win this generation for Jesus we must provide them with stimulating experiences that will help them with their faith. However, as you can see, these experiences are extrabiblical, from the East and inspired by monks - not the inspired Word.

My Bible warns about a spiritual seduction in the last days. Don’t be a victim.

I am Roger Oakland. This has been a biblical perspective to help understand the times.

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