Contemplative prayer, centering prayer and similar practices are not biblical and are one of the more dangerous practices to enter the church. The roots of contemplative prayer exist in the eastern occultic meditative traditions and Catholic mysticism.
Also referred to as centering prayer, the idea is to find the center of your being by repeating a religious word as a mantra and trying to listen to the voice of God from within you as you wait in silence. Its supporters are false teachers such as Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard (The Spirit of the Disciplines), Ann Spangler, and Richard Foster (Celebration of Discipline).
According to Nouwen -“The quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart … This way of simple prayer … opens us to God’s active presence” -(The Way of the Heart, p. 81)
This is NOT Biblical Prayer. There are not examples of this type of prayer in the Bible? If anyone is trying to teach you something that you do not find examples of in your Bible then this is a red flag!
There are serious dangers with contemplative prayer. It is a clear aberration from biblical prayer. When one of His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1-2a), note Jesus’ response.
“And he said to them, “When you pray, say:”
Jesus did NOT say that when you pray, “listen”. Rather He said that when we pray, “say”. The Greek term for “say” literally means to speak. Prayer then is verbal, not listening in silence. Prayer is talking to God, NOT listening to God. Listening to God comes from reading His Word. If you want to hear from God, read His Word!
Contemplative prayer is man-centered, not God-centered.
This type of prayer encourages a person to look inwardly, inside yourself, in solitude and silence. We should not be encouraged to look inside ourselves. We should be encouraged to look up.....toward God. We should not be encouraged to descend into our own hearts.
If you continue on with the way Jesus taught His disciples to pray (Luke 11) you will see that He begins first with adoration. We should praise God for all His wonderful and amazing characteristics. This helps us stand in awe of our God who is full of glory and majesty and deserves our sincere praise. Reading our Bibles also helps us to better be able to praise our great God.
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 145:3
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33
When the contemplative prayer gurus promote listening to God in prayer, this is in essence saying that God's Word is insufficient. This is clearly leading one to believe that God has some special revelation He is going to reveal to you by practicing this method. It is saying scripture is not enough so we wait in silent prayer to listen to God for something more than the Bible. Be warned: satan can deceive your heart when you are not content to simply read and study the Bible and feel the need for more (Eve). This is nothing less than a desire for extra biblical revelation, God speaking outside of Scripture. What an insult to our God who has given us everything we need in His Word!
"5 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:15-17
Some supporters of contemplative prayer suggest repeating a name or a phrase or even a Bible verse over and over. This is often called a mantra within new age circles. This practice therefore places an emphasis on the power of your repetition.....the power of "your words". Actually this is an ancient practice within eastern mysticism. It has invaded the evangelical church by simply changing the repetitive words to scripture, as if this somehow makes the practice holy. Do not be deceived! This practice does not lead you closer to God, but directs you to self. Again there are no examples of such teaching in the Word of God. In fact, He clearly tells us:
"7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words." Matthew 6:7
We speak to God through prayer. He has spoken to us through His Word. Brothers and sisters, pray to God to praise Him and make your petitions known to Him. Listen to God through His Word alone. Stay away from all these other books and devotionals. They are not necessary and in many, many cases the bookstores are full of false teachers. Reading and studying your Bible alone with perhaps a good Bible commentary is all that is needed. Most importantly, if you choose to use a Bible commentary, sincerely ask God to lead you only to an appropriate commentary and to keep you from being deceived. It is my belief that you will never understand the Word of God or have discernment regarding false teaching if you are continually reading devotionals and other so called christian books. It seems there are so many people, in particular women, who simply will not just read the Bible. Instead they purchase every new devotional, or every new "women's" book or Bible study, which more often than not will mislead you instead of deepening your understanding of scripture. I am reminded of the verse:
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:7
Don't let this be who you are!
To find more information about the dangers of contemplative prayer I suggest searching Doreen Virtue on Youtube. Link included.