Isn’t contemplative prayer a new-age thing?

The new age movement began in the 1970’s; Christian contemplative prayer began at least 1900 years earlier, in the second century Church, and there’s a lot of reason (though no hard evidence) for saying Paul, John and other first-century Church leaders, as well as Christ himself, practiced extended “be-still-and know-that-I-am-God” sessions very much like what we know today as centering prayer. More important than the timing, though, it’s important to realize that the character and nature of centering prayer and contemplation, while seeming similar in some ways to new-age and occult practices, is actually the opposite in purpose and design: rather than trying to gain spiritual power or channel a spirit, the objective of contemplation is to lay down one’s life to God—to yield to Christ in total surrender, to submit to the Holy Spirit—one thought at a time, one day at a time.

Is contemplation Biblical?

Countless thousands of Christians from the second century (or earlier) to the twentieth certainly thought so. Let’s just take a look at a few places in the Bible that we consider to be “contemplative” scriptures.

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”

Psalm 62:1a – “My soul finds rest in God alone” (NIV); “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (NRSV)

I Corinthians 15: 31 – Paul’s pronouncement, “I die daily.”

II Corinthians 3:18 – “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord…” (NIV); notably, an alternate translation for the word “reflect” is “contemplate” in NIV.

II Corinthians 4:16, 18 – …”Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day…So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Philippians 2:5-8 – Paul’s encouragement to believers to take on, as Christ did, the attitude of a servant and to die to self.

Ephesians 3:16-19 – Paul’s prayer for all believers “to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the very nature of God.”

Hebrews 11: 27 – Moses “persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”

What’s Christian about it?

Dying to self to be transformed into the image of Christ. This is the heart of contemplative prayer.

How is Christian contemplation different from, say, Zen Buddhist meditation?

Hindu and Buddhist meditation aim for mental clarity through awareness by way of concentrated attention. Centering prayer and contemplation aim for purity of heart by a constant practice of letting go of our selfish desires, thoughts and feelings (which pretty much means all thoughts and feelings), to make our minds and hearts available only to God. Also, the objective of Eastern meditation is to come to the point of realizing that you are one with the universe. The aim of contemplation is to attain what 16^th century writer Jean-Pierre Caussade referred to as “abandonment to divine providence,” that is, complete surrender of self and its desires, plans and goals to the will and work of God.

Why is contemplation necessary?

It’s not that you can’t have a great walk with God without being a contemplative. But it’s a gift that I believe God is restoring to the 21^st century Church, just as the gifts of prophecy, tongues, etc. were restored to the Church in the twentieth century. If God gifts you with contemplation, you will have a deeper, richer, more meaningful walk with God than if you choose not to accept the gift.

Why hasn’t the Church taught contemplation, if it’s in the Bible?

It did, up until the “Enlightenment” or “Age of Reason” convinced most in the Church that this was not how God should be worshiped or followed.