CONTEMPLATING CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER: IS IT REALLY PRAYER? By Marcia
Montenegro (page 1 of 3)
http://www.christiananswersforthenewage.org/Articles_ContemplativePrayer1.html
"God's first language is silence." 1
"Progress in intimacy with God means progress toward silence." 2
"The im****tant thing is that we are relaxed and our back is straight
so that the vitalizing energies can flow freely." 3
Contemplation is "a pure and a virginal knowledge, poor in concepts,
poorer still in reasoning, but able, by its very poverty and purity,
to follow the Word 'wherever He may go.'" 4
Contemplative Prayer, also called Centering Prayer or Listening
Prayer, has been taught by Roman Catholic monks Thomas Merton, Thomas
Keating, and Basil Pennington, as well as by Quaker Richard Foster,
and is being advocated by many others. There is no one authority on
this method, nor is there necessarily a consistent teaching on it,
though most of the founding teachers quote medieval mystics, Hindu,
and Buddhist spiritual teachers.
According to www.contemplativeoutreach.org, "Centering Prayer is drawn
from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage,
notably the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert, Lectio Divina, (praying
the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross and St.
Teresa of Avila. It was distilled into a simple method of prayer in
the 1970's by three Trappist monks, Fr. William Meninger, Fr. Basil
Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating at the Trappist Abbey, St.
Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts." It should be added, "During
the twenty years (1961-1981) when Keating was abbot, St. Joseph's held
dialogues with Buddhist and Hindu representatives, and a Zen master
gave a week-long retreat to the monks. A former Trappist monk who had
become a Transcendental Meditation teacher also gave a session to the
monks." 5
The influence of Buddhism and Hinduism on Contemplative Prayer
(hereafter referred to as CP) is apparent. Words such as "detachment,"
"transformation," "emptiness," "enlightenment" and "awakening" swim in
and out of the waters of these books. The use of such terms certainly
mandates a closer inspection of what is being taught, despite the fact
that contemplative prayer is presented as Christian practice.
Themes that one finds echoed in the CP movement include the notions
that true prayer is: silent, beyond words, beyond thought, does away
with the "false self," triggers transformation of consciousness, and
is an awakening. Suggested techniques often include breathing
exercises, visualization, repetition of a word or phrase, and
detachment from thinking.
Beyond words: The Silence
As we see from the quotes above, silence is assumed to be God's
"language." This seems contradictory since language usually involves
the use of words, or at least symbols. From whence did this idea
arise? Some quote Ps. 62:5, "My soul, wait in silence for God only,
for my hope is from Him." But the passage is about depending on God
for refuge and salvation, and is not instructing how to pray. The
emphasis is expectation for God only - only God can save. Even if the
psalmist is praying, it is not telling us that silence is the only way
to pray, or that we must approach God in silence. However, Keating
states that vocal prayer is not "the most profound prayer." 6
According to St. John of the Cross, who is heavily quoted by CP
advocates, entering an "advanced state of Contemplation" requires
education and training.7 This type of prayer has "nothing to do with
the words and petitions of what is commonly called prayer. It is not
articulate; it has no form."8 Certainly one of the ironies of CP is
that it essentially is not prayer.
It is a Zen Buddhist concept that truth is beyond words (this is also
a Taoist view; Zen's roots are in Taoism and Buddhism). Zen teaches
that truth must be realized as one practices sitting meditation
(zazen), cultivating an empty mind by letting go of thoughts so that
rational thinking is transcended; or perhaps, as in the Rinzai school
of Zen, one's awareness is triggered by koans such as, "What is the
sound of one hand clapping?" or "What was your face before you were
born?" According to Zen, Buddha's "real message remained always
unspoken, and was such that, when words attempted to express it, they
made it seem as if it were nothing at all." 9
The Unity School of Christianity, a church founded on New Thought
principles, and whose founders were influenced by Eastern beliefs, is
a forerunner of the New Age Movement. Jesus is known as a "Way-Shower"
and is believed to have become the Christ when he attained perfection;
all people are believed to have the inner potential to be the same as
Christ. In a Unity booklet, "The Adventure Called Unity,"10 it states
that prayer involves
"[C]oncentrating one's entire intellect on God, affirming a positive
statement of truth, meditating on Divine Principles, and finally
turning within one's own being in a wonderful time of quiet which
Unity calls 'the silence,' wherein one becomes receptive to the 'still
small voice' of God." 11
The above, with the exception of the phrase "Divine Principles," is
similar to statements found in CP literature. Unity also asserts that
"spiritual communion takes place through prayer and meditation in the
silence." 12
A popular Bible passage used to advocate silent meditation as prayer
is Ps. 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." However, this is
being taken out of context.13 A study of this Psalm shows this is
actually a rebuke from God to those striving against Him. Some
translations render this as "Cease striving and know that I am
God," (NASB, ESV). Charles H. Spurgeon's remarks on verse 10 are "Hold
off your hands, ye enemies! Sit down and wait in patience, ye
believers! Acknowledge that Jehovah is God, ye who feel the terrors of
his wrath! Adore him, and him only, ye who partake in the protection
of his grace." 14 (For information and cautions regarding the "Be
Still" DVD released in April, 2006, please contact CANA. This will be
sent as an attached Word doc).
Praying in silence, or ruminating on a passage of scripture in
silence, is normal, but silence should not be regarded as superior to
words; nor does the Bible give any sup****t to the notion that the
"language of God" is silence. Interestingly, Foster even warns about
silent CP, saying that it is for more mature believers, that "we are
entering deeply into the spiritual realm" where we may encounter
"spiritual beings" who are not on God's side. He suggests a prayer of
protection in which one surrounds himself with "the light of Christ,"
saying "all dark and evil spirits must now leave," and other words to
keep evil ones at bay.15 I could not help but think of my New Age days
when I was taught to invoke a white light of protection before psychic
activity or contact with the dead. Jesus, in teaching the disciples to
pray, said, "Keep us from the evil one," but this was a petition to
guard us from Satan's schemes, not a formula for warding off evil
spirits while we pray.
In the preface to a book about Christ, an author states that Jesus is
not outside our mind, but that "it is in your mind that Jesus
addresses you. He is your most intimate friend speaking to you,
sometimes in words, often beyond words."16 This book is a classic New
Age book, yet these words are not that dissimilar to many statements
made by CP authors.
Silence can be soothing and comforting; we can get deep insights when
we are quiet. But simply trying to be quiet is not prayer, and there
is no biblical basis for the belief that real prayer is wordless.
After all, God has given us a written revelation, and God's laws and
words are acclaimed throughout the Bible, such as Psalm 119, which
extols God's word as a treasure and lamp. In Is. 40:8, we learn, "The
grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands
forever," and Jesus declares to the Father in Jn. 17:17, "Your word is
truth."
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