Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 172:685 (Jan 2015)
Article: Examining Contemplative Prayer
Author: Douglas R. Groothuis

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Examining Contemplative Prayer

Douglas R. Groothuis

and

Sarah C. Geis

Douglas R. Groothuis is Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado; and Sarah C. Geis is an associated faculty member of apologetics and ethics at Denver Seminary.

Abstract

With the increasing focus on spiritual formation, many evangelicals are seeking direction for spiritual disciplines. Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline is a commonly cited source, along with materials produced by the group he founded called Renovaré. An increasingly common practice is contemplative prayer, including its particularly well-known strand called centering prayer. The discipline is gaining popularity among evangelicals, often encouraged in churches, small groups, and seminaries. After a thorough evaluation, we argue that contemplative prayer bears more similarity to Eastern forms of meditation than to biblical prayer and that Christians should, therefore, reject it in favor of a more biblically-grounded view of prayer.

Called by Scripture to live prayerfully and to grow in godliness (2 Pet. 1:1-11; 1 Thess. 5:17), Christians should be attracted to practices that promise deeper spirituality. Advocates of contemplative prayer (often called centering prayer, listening prayer, or meditative prayer) claim that the practice accomplishes just that. This is not a new exercise; yet it has recently surged in popularity among evangelical Christians. Popular books promote its benefits, and it is frequently considered to be an integral part of the spiritual formation movement. Because of its increasing attractiveness and widespread acceptance, contemplative prayer (CP) merits a close examination to test whether or not it is compatible with biblical Christianity and leads to Christian growth.

We will show that CP resembles certain types of Eastern meditation, especially Zen Buddhism and Transcendental Meditation

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(TM). This gives Christians good reason to evaluate the practice biblically and logically. Nevertheless, CP is not to be rejected simply because of its similarity to non-Christian disciplines, because these similarities may be innocuous. Such apparent affinities should prompt a critical analysis of the nature and practice of CP, but the final verdict must be founded on more than a mere similarity or dissimilarity to the practices of other religions. To avoid the genetic fallacy requires probing to the essence of CP and not simply discussing its origins or affinities. In other words, the Christi...