Counterfeit money has always been an
ongoing problem for banks and the government mints. Much has been
done to change money to make it impossible to counterfeit, but it
seems that no matter how much they change money to make it more
difficult to copy, the counterfeiters continue to think up ways to
beat the system. To try to mitigate this problem as much as
possible, banks teach their people to immediately recognize
counterfeit money. And how do they do this? By having them study
lots and lots of counterfeit money? No. They teach them to
recognize counterfeit money by having them study and study and study
real money. Once a person knows the real article so intimately, a
copy or false article immediately stands out as having something
wrong. Even if they do not immediately recognize what the problem
is, their subconscious recognizes that there is a discrepancy and
bells and alarms go off in their heads telling them something is
wrong. In time by studying the money, they discover what set off
those alarms. The lesson to be learned here is that to recognize a
phony or false representation of something, we must have intimate
knowledge of and experience with the real thing. Just ask antique
dealers. Only in knowing the real thing so well will our subconscious
warn us that something is amiss, even if we do not immediately
recognize what the problem is, and we, like the bankers, can make
sure that we are not cheated or bamboozled by the phony article that
can cost us dearly.
To that end, before we can discuss
contemplative prayer, we must first examine the real thing. But
before doing that there is a major fact about praying that everybody
should understand. If you do not know the Lord as your God and
Savior, if you are an unbeliever, your prayers will not be heard by
God at all, and even a Christian must be in good standing of
righteousness to be heard. Proverbs 15:29 “The LORD is far from
the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.”
To find out what the real article of
prayer is and what God expects and wants in the way of prayer, we
need to look at the Bible and see what it says about prayer and how
we are to pray. Before getting into the components of prayer, we
need to see if our physical presentation is of any importance. We
see in the Bible that prayer can be offered in a number of different
positions. We can stand. Nehemiah 9:5 “Then the Levites,
Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah,
and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever
and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above
all blessing and praise.” Luke 18:10-13 “Two men went up
into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a
publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I
thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I
give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote
upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
We can kneel when praying. Ezra 9:5
“And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and
having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and
spread out my hands unto the LORD my God.” Luke 22:41 “And
he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled
down, and prayed.” Acts 9:40 “But Peter put them all
forth, and kneeled
down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise.
And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.”
Acts 20:36 “And when he had thus spoken, he
kneeled down, and prayed with them all.”
We can sit when we pray. 1 Chronicles
17:16 “And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and
said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is mine house, that thou hast
brought me hitherto?” This verse is followed by a more lengthy
prayer by David. 2 Samuel 7:18 “Then went king David in, and sat
before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my
house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?”
We can bow our heads down when we pray.
Genesis 24:26 “And the man bowed
down his head, and worshipped the LORD.” Exodus 34:8-9 “And
Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and
worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O
Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked
people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine
inheritance.”
We can bow down to the ground and lie
prostrate. Genesis 24:52 “And it came to pass, that, when
Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing
himself to the earth.” 2 Samuel 12:16 “David therefore
besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay
all night upon the earth.”
We can pray with hands lifted up.
Nehemiah 8:6 “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all
the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and
they bowed
their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.”
1 Timothy 2:8 “I will therefore that men pray every where,
lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
Men should have their heads uncovered,
and women should have their heads covered. (See my article on
Headcoverings for more on this subject
http://bibleconundrumsandcontroversy.blogspot.com/2011/01/head-coverings.html ). 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.”
http://bibleconundrumsandcontroversy.blogspot.com/2011/01/head-coverings.html ). 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.”
These then are the physical postures
mentioned in the Bible for praying. As this covers just about every
physical posture we can easily do – standing, sitting, kneeling,
lying prostrate, heads bowed, and hands lifted (optional) we can see
that God cares much less about our body's position than He does about
the content of our prayer. So now we need to see what the
characteristics of a prayer, as the Bible teaches, are.
In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus explains to His disciples how they should pray. Probably the most famous prayer in the world is the prayer that Jesus used to teach his disciples how to pray. We call it the Lord's Prayer, and it is recited in many churches every Sunday. We find this prayer in the passage in Matthew 6:5-13 (as well as in Luke 11) “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
What are some things we learn from this
passage? We learn the following:
- Do not be hypocritical by making a big show of doing it. Do it in secret and privacy where you can be honest with God. He knows everything anyhow.
- Do not use repetition, especially vain repetition. What is vain repetition? Vain repetition is words that have no content or meaning behind them. They are simply words that are recited mindlessly with no intelligent communication to God in them.
- Be respectful to God, acknowledging who He is, and your relationship to Him.
- Praise Him.
- Show Him your desire for His kingdom (and Christ's return) to be implemented and that God's will may be done now and in the future here on earth as it already is in heaven.
- Make your supplications known. This includes supplications for yourself which should be not for the luxuries of life, but that God would supply your needs, as well as intercession for the needs of others.
- Confess your sins and asking for forgiveness asking for help in forgiving others of the sins they have committed against you.
- Pray that God will keep you from being tempted to fall into sin,
One thing that is not readily apparent
is that we should also include thanksgiving in our prayers for all
the blessings that God has given us. What else does Matthew 6 teach
us about prayer beyond the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples?
Well, quite a bit in fact.
First, there are several types of
prayer. The first distinction is between public and private.
Yeshua had this to say about private
prayer. Matthew 6:6 “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy
closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is
in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly.” When we are having our own personal time with the
Lord, we are to go somewhere where we will not be disturbed by the
constant interruptions of life. In this day and age having any time
of quiet is a hard thing to find. Especially for a family with
younger children. We have much demanding our time – work, home
chores, children, social obligations, church obligations, etc. Most
people find that they have very little time left for the Lord, and if
they do find some time, generally it is not without interruptions
like telephone calls and the like. God wants our full attention and
we need to find a quiet time and a quiet place to spend time with
Him. Personally I find that I can stay much better focused if I
speak my prayer aloud rather than just think them silently, and I
need to be very honest with God which means that I would prefer not
to be overheard, so getting alone in a very private quiet place is
really essential. This generally means for me that I have to do this
in the early morning or late at night. I would imagine that this is
true for most people, as the cares of life tend to take up the rest
of the day. I happen to live out in the country, so another private
time for me is when I go out to hike through the fields or walk on
the road. There is very little traffic and somehow for me I feel
closer to God when I am out in nature.
Does this mean that we should always
and only pray in private? No, Yeshua also said this. Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them.” Clearly prayer of two or more is
also important in that Christ is in the midst of them when they do
pray. And there is an added benefit of having someone praying with
you in agreement with the prayer. Matthew 18:19 “Again I say
unto you, That if two of you shall agree
on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” When
two people are praying for the same thing, it generally is not about
something selfish, which can happen when only one person is praying,
so God sees that it is important. Notice what the promise is. He
has promised that if two people are in agreement there is a good
chance God will do it for them. So it can be seen that if two agree
on something, how much more powerful would it be if a group of people
agree on the prayer?
There is more to this passage in
Matthew, but that will be left until later in this article, as it is
a crucial piece of information about what classifies as the real
article of prayer, as taught by God and Yeshua.
Continuing on, prayer, as shown by
Christ's example above, has different parts to it. The first part
should be our praise and adoration of God, as demonstrated by the
Lord's prayer. When Zacharias got his power of speech back after
John the Baptist was born, the first thing out of his mouth was
praise for God, as it should be out of our mouths. Luke 1:64 “And
his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he
spake, and praised God.” When the blind man was given his
sight back, what was the first thing he did? “And immediately
he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the
people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.” We are always
being given blessings by God, so the first thing we should do when we
speak to Him is praise Him. When Paul and Silas were thrown into
prison, what did they do? Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and
Silas prayed, and sang praises
unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Hebrews
13:15 tells us “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of
praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his
name.” It would appear that we are to be praising God
continually, so most certainly it has to be a vital and prominent
part of our prayer life.
1 Timothy 2:1 gives us some other
important characteristics of prayer. “I exhort therefore, that,
first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be
made for all men.”
We can see from this verse that another
part to prayer is thanksgiving. Before we start making requests,
does it not seem right that we should take the time to praise and
thank God first? Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but
in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God.” When we pray, no matter what
the prayer is for, we are to offer it along with thanksgiving. How
much more would you answer your child's request if first they made a
point of acknowledging all that you have already done for them or
given them? God is no different. He likes to know we appreciate and
acknowledge all that he has done for us. My two adult sons have a
terrible habit which drives me crazy. They procrastinate. I found
it especially annoying that this habit found its way into many of
their school assignments even through college. From the time they
were little, we had a practice of going to God with every little
problem and He in His infinite wisdom when they were little, had a
habit of always answering their requests. I believe He did this to
increase their faith. Unfortunately, He overdid it, as they both now
have the attitude that God will handle everything and they don't have
to worry about it. While this is a good attitude to have – not to
worry, I don't think God intended to teach them to be irresponsible
and leave things to the last minute. Yet He continues to pull, as
they tend to put it, their “fannies out of the fire.” I guess He
continues to do it, as they never take the credit for anything they
do, but constantly give Him the glory for everything they achieve,
for they know that they could not have done it at the last minute
without His help. To date, they have been extremely successful in
school and the older one in work. The younger one just graduated
college and is looking for work in a field that is quite closed at
the moment, but given God's history with them I have no doubt the
perfect job is right around the corner. Obviously praise and
thanksgiving has made a difference in their lives, even if I think
they are pushing it just a little.
One thing that we should daily give
thanks for is the food we eat. Without God supplying our needs in
this respect we would starve to death. Christ gives us this example
of giving thanks over food when He fed the multitudes with the loaves
and fish, Matthew 15:36 “And he took the seven loaves and the
fishes, and gave thanks,
and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the
multitude.” (Also found in Mark 8:6 and John 6:11.) Yeshua
also gave thanks and blessed the bread and wine at the Last Supper.
Matthew 26:27 “ And he took the cup, and gave thanks,
and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it.” Luke 22:19
“And he took bread, and gave thanks,
and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is
given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (Also found in
Mark 14:23, Luke 22:17, and John 6:11.) Paul also reminded us by
example that we should give thanks over food. When he was being taken
to Caesar and the ship was in trouble he told the soldiers that they
should eat and not worry. Acts 27:35 “And when he had thus
spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them
all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.” He continued
to mention the importance of thanking God for food in the following
verses. We are to thank God whether we are eating or not eating
something in particular, or even fasting. Romans 14:6 “He that
regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth
not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth,
eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks;
and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God
thanks.” 1
Timothy 4:3-4 “ Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain
from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving
of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God
is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with
thanksgiving.”
While Paul does mention food a number
of times in regards to thanking God, we are to thank God for
absolutely everything. And further we are to offer our thanksgivings
in the name of Jesus Christ, which is why most people end their
prayers with some form of the following phrase, “in Jesus' (or
Yeshua's) name. Amen.” Colossians 3:17 “Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ.” All things, no matter whether good or bad,
deserve our thanksgiving, for all things in a Christian's life are
controlled by God and allowed by Him for our good. Romans 8:28 “And
we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
“In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with
thanksgiving.”
In fact the things that should come out of our mouths most of the
time are praise and thanksgiving, not what seems to come out of a lot
of Christian's mouths. Galatians 5:4 “Neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather
giving of thanks.” and again Hebrews 13:15 “By him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to
his name.” So all prayer should have as a mandatory part of
its core being, thanksgiving as well as praise.
The next component of prayer according
to Scripture is confession. Confession is necessary for salvation
and continual forgiveness of sins. Confession is made to God as a
part of prayer. Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.” 1 John 1:9 “If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 4:15
“Whosoever shall confess
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and
he in God.” While confession of our sins is made to God, we
find help in being accountable and getting much needed help in
conquering our sins, if we confide our problems and needs to others
and ask for intercessory prayer. James 5:16a “Confess
your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed.”
A
vital part of prayer, and a part that will probably take up most of
your prayer time is that of intercession. We are told that we are to
pray for other believers and we should pray for the salvation of
unbelievers also. The above James 5:16a tells us to pray for each
other as does 1 John 5:16. “If any man see his brother
sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give
him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death:
I do not say that he shall pray
for it.”
Paul asks for intercessory
prayer in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray
for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course,
and be glorified, even as it is with you.”
He also offers intercessory prayer for others. 1 Thessalonians 1:2
“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention
of you in our prayers.”
The Scripture is full of examples of people praying for others right from Genesis onward. In Genesis 20, Abraham had passed Sarah off to King Abimelech as his sister. As she was beautiful, Abimelech took her. He was visited by God who said He would destroy not only him, but everyone who belonged to him, but that if he gave Sarah back to Abraham and Abraham prayed for him, all would be well. Verse 7, 17 “Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.......So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.” Intercessory pray can be found from that point on all through the Scriptures. The number of examples one can find are so abundant that is apparent that God expects us to intercede for others.
For
unbelievers there are several things for which we can pray. We are to
pray for the salvation of those who do not believe. Matthew 9:38
“Pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers
into his harvest.” Luke 10:2
“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great,
but the labourers are few: pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would
send forth labourers into his harvest.”
We
should pray for their deliverance from demonic control. Matthew 17:21
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer
and fasting.” Mark 9:29 “And
he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by
prayer and fasting.”
One of
the ways that we can intercede for other Christians is for their
healing. In James 5:14-15 we see that one of the directives that God
gives us for healing is something that is ignored by much of the
Church. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins,
they shall be forgiven him.”
If someone is sick, they should call upon the elders of the church to
anoint him and offer intercessory prayer on his behalf. Prayer for
healing, if offered in this manner by faith, will save the sick. And
not only his sickness will be healed, but he will be forgiven his
sins. This would seem to be contingent, though, upon the rest of the
instructions in the passage, for the verse that follows these verses
is one we have seen before. James 5:16 “Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.” Notice that for the
forgiveness to be extended, confession of our faults to others must
be acted upon. Sometimes sickness is a result of sin, therefore for
the elders to be effective in anointing and praying, part of the
healing process must be confession of sins.
Some other things
for which we should offer intercessory prayer are the following:
For
our country – 2 Chronicles 6:38-39, 7:14 “If they
return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the
land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and
pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and
toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I
have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from
thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and
maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned
against thee........If my people, which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sin, and will heal their land.”
Our country will only be healed of its problems when its people
humble themselves, get on their knees and pray for it. As our
country has a serious problem with arrogance and disrespect toward
God, I do not see this happening. Our country can expect that God
will continue to chastise us until He finally gives up and simply
pours out His wrath.
For
our government and officials – Ezra 6:10 “That they may
offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray
for the life of the king, and of his sons.”
1 Timothy 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made
for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we
may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
Why should we pray for our government and officials? Because God
has given them authority over us. Romans 13:1-8 “Let
every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power
but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and
they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers
are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not
be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have
praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the
sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute
wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject,
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause
pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending
continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues:
tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom
fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one
another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”
For
those under our authority – 1 Samuel 12:19 “And all the
people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God,
that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to
ask us a king.” Paul prayed for those under his shepherding. 2
Timothy 1:3 “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with
pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in
my prayers
night and day.”
For your enemies/unbelievers –
Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Another
part of pray has to do with our own personal problems, needs, and
desires. It can be called requests, petitions, or supplications. 1
Timothy 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made
for all men.” Notice the parts of prayer that Paul outline in
this verse. These are the parts we have covered. Philippians 4:6
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.” Supplication means to
ask for humbly or earnestly. This is how these requests should be
made known to God, along with thanksgiving as before mentioned. The
areas that our petitions should address are the following:
Forgiveness
for our sins – Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.”
Luke 11:4a “And forgive
us our sins; for we also
forgive every one that is indebted to us. ”
Both of these verses are part of the Lord's Prayer. Clearly we need
to be asking for forgiveness, but there is something more required to
obtaining God's forgiveness. Notice all of these following verses.
Matthew
6:14-15 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men
their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew
18:21-35 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but,
Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven
likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his
servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him,
which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to
pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children,
and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore
fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me,
and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved
with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the
same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which
owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by
the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest And his fellowservant
fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with
me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him
into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants
saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their
lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him,
said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt,
because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had
compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his
lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should
pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father
do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his
brother their trespasses.”
Mark 11:25-26 “And when ye stand
praying, forgive,
if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in
heaven may forgive
you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive,
neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive
your trespasses. ”
Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and ye shall
not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive,
and ye shall be forgiven.”
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one
to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ's sake hath forgiven
you.”
Not only is our forgiveness of others
important in our own forgiveness, it is also important in getting
them their forgiveness from God.
2 Corinthians 2:10 “To whom ye
forgive any thing, I forgive
also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your
sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ.”
Another part of our petitioning is for
deliverance from temptation – Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Luke 11:4b “And
lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. “
Mark 14:38 “Watch ye and pray,
lest ye enter into temptation.
The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Luke 22:40 “And when he was at the
place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.”
Luke 22:46 “And said unto them,
Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it.” The only way to escape temptation as seen by
the many above verses is to pray to escape it, for God makes a way
for us to escape it. He promises this again in this next verse.
2 Peter 2:9 “The Lord knoweth how
to deliver the godly out of temptations,
and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”
Why is it so important to pray to
escape temptation? Because there is great reward – a crown of
life.
James 1:12 “Blessed is the man
that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord hath promised to them that love him.”
We need to pray for our daily needs.
God is our supplier of all our needs, but we need to let Him know
what we need and want (even though He has knowledge of our needs
before we even ask, He still likes to be asked.) Matthew 6:11 “Give
us this day our daily bread.” Luke 11:3 “Give us day by
day our daily bread.”
Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall
supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
We need to pray not only for others
healing as illustrated earlier in intercessory prayer, but for our
own healing from sickness and suffering. James 5:13 “Is any
among you afflicted? let him pray.”
The one prayer that God will always
answer in the affirmative is one for wisdom. As long as you have
faith it will be answered. James 1:5-7 “If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he
shall receive any thing of the Lord.”
We
should always be praying for guidance, as God does not force His will
upon us, but waits upon us to ask for it. The disciples prayed for
guidance in choosing a replacement for Judas. Acts 1:24 “And
they prayed,
and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew
whether of these two thou hast chosen.”
Christ
prayed for the Father to send the Holy Spirit to guide us. John 14:16
“And I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you for ever.”
It is the Holy Spirit who guides us.
John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray
for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Psalms 25:9 “The meek will he
guide in
judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.”
Psalms 313 “For thou art my rock
and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide
me.”
Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct thee
and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide
thee with mine eye.”
We need to pray to escape the coming
Great Tribulation (pre-tribs do not believe they will be here, but
they will. Read my articles on that here,
http://bibleconundrumsandcontroversy.blogspot.com/2012/02/pre-tribulation-rapture-has-serious.html
or go to my other blog that teaches
Bible prophecy http://endtimesstudies.blogspot.com/.)
Matthew 24:20 “But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither
on the sabbath day.”
Mark 13:18 “And pray
ye that your flight be not in the winter.”
Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore,
and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Prayer is needed for protection.
Psalms 91 “He that dwelleth in the
secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the
snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover
thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his
truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for
the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for
the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that
wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten
thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only
with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most
High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall
any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee
up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou
shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon
shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath
known my name. He shall call upon me, and I
will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him,
and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my
salvation.”
Now that we have
seen all the many things that we need to be including in our prayers,
we need to see how to get the answers we desire. There are some
requirements that must be met to gain God's approval and some
hindrances that prevent God from even hearing our prayers.
We
must be pure of heart, so we must purge ourselves of sin, confess,
and repent. Psalms 66:18-19 “If I regard iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he
hath attended to the voice of my prayer.”
We
must pray with faith and belief. Matthew 21:21-22 “Jesus
answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith,
and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig
tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed,
and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things,
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto
you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
James 1:6 “But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the
sea driven with the wind and tossed.”
We
need to pray according to God's will, not our own. 1 John 5:14-15
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if
we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we
know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of him.”
We
need to pray fervently and with persistance. James 5:16b The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:17 “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are,
and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on
the earth by the space of three years and six months.”
Luke 18:1-7 “And he spake a
parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not
to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God,
neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she
came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not
for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not
God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will
avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord
said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his
own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them?”
Luke 11:5-13 “And he said unto
them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at
midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a
friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to
set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me
not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise
and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his
importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I
say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you
that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will
he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he
offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
As already mentioned before, things
must be asked in Christ's name. John 14:13-14 “And whatsoever
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will
do it.” John 16:23-24 “And in that day ye shall ask me
nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked
nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full.
We are to pray without ceasing. (not
necessarily for specific petitions, although you can do that as the
woman in the parable, but as an action). 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray
without ceasing.”
We should pray with pure motives, not
out of selfish desires. James 4:3 “Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
We need to pray with forgiveness toward
others. This was already covered above where we were told that if we
do not forgive others, then God will not forgive us. (See above for
references).
We need to pray with humility. Luke
18:10-14 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a
Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me
a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
We need to pray in unity with other
believers. We have already seen this verse before. Matthew 18:19
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them
of my Father which is in heaven.”
There is one more thing in this list of
do's as to how we are to pray, but I am leaving that for the end as
it is the crucial point in this article. Having covered the do's, we
need to look at the do not's. There are ways of praying that hinder
or completely prevent our prayers from being heard. Some of these
are the opposite of the do's (makes sense), but need to be adhered to
as much as the do's must be.
Do not pray self-righteously. We know
that we should pray with humility, but God also hates people who pray
with arrogance, self-righteousness, and pride. What is important to
remember when praying in private or in public, whether in a group
situation like a prayer meeting where all take a turn, or when
leading a prayer for a congregation is to avoid a show of the
aforementioned attitudes. Matthew 6:5 “And when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their
reward.” Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up into the temple
to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I
possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so
much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God
be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his
house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted.”
We are not to make an ostentatious show
of praying. It is arrogant and attention getting, and this is not
pleasing to God, for in so doing one is trying to put on an air of
self-righteousness, which then makes one hypocritical. We are to be
humble when praying, not looking for people to be impressed with us.
The place that I tend to see this happening is not only in churches,
but out in restaurants. While we should thank God for our food, even
when out in public, we should not do it ostentatiously by praying
very loudly so everyone can hear, as if that is some sort of
testimony. I have seen many people do this thinking that they are
being a good witness, when in fact it is not. It is a show of
self-righteousness and it does not impress people. Plus, it hinders
our prayer. Far better to bow heads and quietly pray so that only
those at the table hear it. You should not be drawing attention to
yourselves, but show a humble attitude that people might notice.
They will know you are praying and realize that you are probably a
Christian. You don't have to announce it to the world that this is
what you are doing. The one thing that people notice is the attitude
with which you pray. If you are carrying on like some sort of
old-time revival preacher with a loud roaring voice and showmanship
attitude of piety that smacks of phoniness, you will do more harm for
the Lord than good. If on the other hand when you are asked to pray
publicly for a group you do it with a quiet humble attitude, moderate
tone of voice, and behavior that does not look like a side show in
the circus, you will reach people's hearts, and the Lord will hear
you.
Men, do not to mistreat your wives. 1
Peter 3:7 “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to
knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers
be not hindered.”
Do not disobey God's laws, as this will
cause our prayers to not be heard. Proverbs 28:9 “He that
turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
abomination.”
Do not refuse to help others in need
and turn a deaf ear to their cries for help or God will do the same
to us with our prayers. Proverbs 21:13 “Whoso stoppeth his ears
at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be
heard.”
Do not doubt God can do anything.
James 1:6-7 “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he
that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of
the Lord.”
Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld
them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but
with God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:27 “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:27 “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
1 Timothy 2:8 “I will therefore
that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and
doubting.”
Now we come to the last two things
about prayer that need to be discussed. One is a "do", and one is a "do
not". The "do" can be found in 1 Corinthians 14. The church at Corinth
was having a problem with people abusing the gift of tongues. It had
gotten to the point where people were all babbling at the same time,
without the benefit of anyone interpreting, and it was chaos. Paul
chastised them for this behavior, not only for speaking in tongues in
general this way, but for praying in tongues in this manner. Verses
14-15a “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth,
but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with
the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.” Paul
points out to them that prayer without any understanding on our part
is unfruitful. How can we address all the things about which we are
supposed to be praying – praise, thanksgiving, confession,
intercession, and supplications, if we do not have any thought or
intelligent thinking behind it. It is just mindless babble which
could be anything. This is sort of both a "do" and a "don't". We are to
pray with intelligent thought behind what we are praying and not just
what appears to be meaningless babble. This is more of a danger than
just mindless jabbering though. I knew of a case where people were
speaking and praying in tongues, and nobody was translating or
interpreting it within the church, but a visitor happened to be there
that day and recognized one of the languages being spoken. It was
Latin and the person, whether knowingly or not I do not know, was
saying, “Satan is my master, I love Satan.” over and over. This
is why Paul warned against speaking and praying in tongues that were
unknown and not translated. So the lesson he was teaching here was,
pray with meaning, understanding, and intelligence. This is
necessary if we are to pray the way Yeshua taught us to pray.
The last thing that Yeshua speaks of in
the passage in Matthew 6 is very pertinent to the subject of this
article. Matthew 6:7-8 “But when ye pray, use not vain
repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be
heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them:
for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask
him.” I have left this to last, because it addresses the very
problem found in contemplative prayer, vain repetition. We are not
to use meaningless repetitive words like the heathen. In fact we are
specifically told to not pray in this manner, for it is the manner of
the heathens. It is meaningless rattle as far as God is concerned,
because He knows what you need, and is simply waiting for you to ask
for it. Meaningless babble or even repetitive prayers that say the
same thing over and over are as meaningless to Him as they are to us.
Most people repeat these kinds of prayers with no active mind
engagement anyhow.
The last thing that needs to be
addressed before moving on to examining contemplative prayer is the
Biblical definition of meditation, for meditation is a huge part of
contemplative prayer.
Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law
shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make
thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in
the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate
day and night.”
Psalm 77:12 “I will meditate
also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”
Psalm 119:5 “I will meditate
in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.”
Psalm 119:48 “My hands also will I
lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will
meditate in
thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:78 “My hands also will I
lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will
meditate in
thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:148 “Mine eyes prevent
the night watches, that I might meditate
in thy word.”
Psalm 143:5 “I remember the days
of old; I meditate
on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.”
1 Timothy 4:12-15 “Let no man
despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word,
in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I
come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by
prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy
profiting may appear to all.”
In each and every case above,
meditation does not refer to an emptying of the mind, but an active
engagement of the mind. Meditation as used in the Bible is the old
school definition, which means to think, ponder, consider, and have
discourse on a subject. It is anything but inactive. The only
definition of meditation by Bible standards is that we are to
actively think about, consider, ponder, and dwell upon God's Word,
His laws, His precepts, His works, His attributes, and etc. After
reading a passage of Scripture, we should not just shove it out of
our minds, but keep it there to consider and think about what it
says, what it means, how we can apply it to our lives, and to pray
about it.
Now that we know of what real prayer
and meditation are according to the Scriptures, we can examine
contemplative prayer and see if it passes the test of being real or
is a counterfeit. To do this, we must see what contemplative prayer
is.
The following information about the
history of contemplative prayer was found at
http://contemplativeoutreach.org
and http://www.contemplativeprayer.net/.
- Centering Prayer (which is the first step in contemplative prayer) is drawn from the ancient practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the traditional monastic practice of Lectio Divina and the practices described in the anonymous fourteenth century classic The Cloud of Unknowing and in the writings of Christian mystics such as John Cassian, Francis de Sales, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, and Thomas Merton.
- In the 1970s, answering the call of Vatican II, three Trappist monks at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, Fathers William Meninger, Basil Pennington and Thomas Keating, looked to these ancient sources to develop a simple method of silent prayer for contemporary people.
- As abbot of St. Joseph's Abbey, Fr. Keating attended a meeting in Rome in 1971. At the meeting, Pope Paul VI called on the members of the clergy to revive the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in the lives of both monastic and lay people. Believing in the importance of this revival, Fr. Keating encouraged the monks at St. Joseph's to develop a method of Christian contemplative prayer with the same appeal and accessibility that Eastern meditation practices seemed to have for modern people.
-
- In 1974, Father William Meninger, a Trappist monk and retreat master at St. Josephs Abbey in Spencer, Mass. found a dusty little book in the abbey library, The Cloud of Unknowing. As he read it he was delighted to discover that this anonymous 14th century book presented contemplative meditation as a teachable, spiritual process enabling the ordinary person to enter and receive a direct experience of union with God.
- He quickly began teaching contemplative prayer according to The Cloud of Unknowing at the Abbey Retreat House. One year later his workshop was taken up by his Abbot, Thomas Keating, and Basil Pennington, both of whom had been looking for a teachable form of Christian contemplative meditation to offset the movement of young Catholics toward Eastern meditation techniques.
- This form of meditation is known as “Centering Prayer”. The following information on centering prayer comes from http://www.centeringprayer.com/.
- Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.
As this type of prayer began with the Catholic church, the directions for practicing this type of prayer reflect that ideology. According to the directions in an audio on http://www.contemplativeprayer.net/ the way to begin centering prayer is to have had confession first. Then find a comfortable, quiet place to sit. You are not to kneel, as you are to be as comfortable as possible. Then meditate (empty your mind) so that you can feel a stirring of love for God. Pray a very short prayer, in your own words, or if you have a short prayer you can recite it. This is supposed to put you in God's presence. Do not think about God, or His attributes (praise), or doctrine (God's precepts), or making petitions (whether intercessory or for yourself. You are not to do anything active, as these things are useless for this process. Thinking or remembering are obstacles as they clutter your mind, so empty your mind of them. You are not to dwell on God's attributes, (no praise, no thanksgiving) as they are of no use. You should rest (empty not engage) your mind. Contemplatives are not to pray in words. (No communication.) If words are used, it should only be one word (a mantra) such as God, Abba, or Father, and you repeat this over and over. Nothing else should be done. You should focus your attention on experiencing God's presence and not think about anything or anyone.
Now that we have seen what the people
who teach this have to say about the history of it and centering
prayer, we need to move on to contemplative prayer. Contemplative
prayer is not what the word might suggest, contemplating while you
pray. It is in fact the opposite. After spending a few minutes in
centering prayer (chanting the mantra), the contemplative is to sit
still, keeping their mind blank and experience God's presence,
listening to see if God speaks to them. It is a receptive, passive
form of prayer, not prayer that goes out to God. This
should be done twice daily for 15-20 minutes. In time God will draw
you to the point where you do not even need to chant the word to
“enter into God's presence.” [This entrance into God's presence
may take you out of your conscious self.] To end your contemplation,
you need to say a vocal prayer such as the Lord's Prayer (or some
other prayer such as one to Mary) as this is necessary to bring
yourself back to consciousness, as this practice tends
to lift you out of everyday consciousness. When distracting thoughts
come, you need to ignore them.
So we now have via the teachers of this
style of prayer themselves, a definition of what these prayers are.
Having shown at the beginning what real prayer is according to the
Scriptures, does this look like the real thing, or a counterfeit?
Let us examine it more closely.
Actually, it cannot truly be defined as
prayer, as the definition of prayer is “A solemn request for help
or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.”
Prayer requires an active, thought-filled communication to God. This
is not active, it is not thought-filled, and it is not communication.
It was created to simulate and be like the meditation practices of
Eastern and New Age religions. This was how this type of prayer was
designed. To give the people the trappings of the Eastern religions
so that they would not leave the church, but put a Christian twist on
it. Are we as Christians supposed to adopt pagan practices and
incorporate them into our worship? It seems to me that Israel did
this quite a bit and look at how many times God punished them for it.
God does not want us adding pagan practices to what He tells us to
do. As this entire type of prayer in its conception was designed to
simulate a pagan method of prayer, we should not be participating in
it. It was said that the information on this type of prayer came from
an anonymous source. Anonymous source? How do we know what beliefs
this anonymous source may have had. They may have been into Eastern
mystiscim, and if fact it appears that they were, so using this as a
model is highly suspect. But does the problem end there? No it does
not.
Contemplative prayer is supposed to be
a mystical experience. Mysticism is based upon feelings that one
experiences though and has nothing to do with the facts or truth of
the Bible. Many people are choosing to leave studying God's Word and
real prayer behind to submerse themselves in this new contemplative
prayer, abandoning all the Biblical ways we are told to pray and
worship God. They want the experience, no matter how wrong it may
be, over the facts and truth of what the Bible teaches. God warns
that abandoning and ignoring His word will have serious consequences.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no
priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will
also forget thy children.”
This prayer is
deliberately designed to lead away from active modes of prayer
– verbal, mental, affective prayer. Ones in which you praise,
thank, confess, intercede, and petition God. Wait, I think they
misspelled that word affective. It should have read effective,
because I think this prayer is deliberately designed to make your
prayer life ineffective. It is supposed to lead you away from
conversation with Christ to “experiencing” him. This in turn is
supposed to deepen one's relationship with Christ. It will hardly do
that, given what is taking place in contemplative prayer - absolutely
nothing. It has rendered your prayer life completely ineffective in
every way and does nothing for your relationship with Christ except
in your imagination. How better could Satan be served than to take
away one of our two offensive weapons against Him (the other being
the Word of God). He has corrupted God's Word with these bad modern
translations of the Bible (see my article on the KJV Bible
http://bibleconundrumsandcontroversy.blogspot.com/2011/01/king-james-version-only-controversy.html
) and doctrines of demons, and now he is rendering our prayer lives
ineffective to combat him. This type of prayer comes straight from
the pit of hell.
Let us take a look
at the practice itself. It starts with confession. Well, confession
is an appropriate part of prayer, but not in a confessional to a
priest who absolves you of sin by having you recite some vain
repetitive prayers, but in active, mind-filled, spontaneous prayer to
God. Then one is supposed to find a comfortable place and sit.
While one can sit and pray, one can also kneel to show respect, or
stand or even lie prone. In contemplative prayer only sitting is
acceptable, one is in fact told not to kneel, as if there is
something wrong in bowing your knee to God. Then one is supposed to
empty their mind. Now we know that this is definitely against what
Scripture teaches, as we are to pray with understanding. We are to
be talking to God, praising Him, thanking Him, confessing to Him,
asking for intercession for others, and making our own petitions.
The last thing we are supposed to do is empty our minds. And why is
that? When adopting the practice from Eastern and New Age religions,
the originators of this neglected to see what the purpose of emptying
the mind was. It is for the purpose of allowing spirit guides
(demons) to enter into their mind and take over. Is that what a
Christian should be doing? When we open ourselves up by emptying our
mind, we allow demonic infestation. It is an extremely dangerous
practice. Further, after emptying the mind, the person is told to
chant a mantra (vain repetition, which we are specifically told not
to do). Now in these mystical religions, the mantra one chants is
usually the name (sometimes unbeknownst to the chanter) of a demon
whom they are summoning to come and enter their emptied mind. This
also has the added “virtue” of sending a person into a
trance-like state. This obviously is happening to Christians using
this type of prayer, as the directions say that after you have spent
your 20 minutes in contemplation you need to bring yourself back to
your conscious mind by praying a prayer aloud. Why would you need to
bring yourself back to your conscious mind, if you have not been in a
trance? The answer is, you wouldn't. So going into a trance is
apparently quite common. When in a trance, a demon has full control
over your actions. Is this what a Christian should want?
In every facet of
contemplative prayer, it fails the test of what real prayer is. It
is completely unScriptural and in addition is very dangerous. But
putting aside all that for a moment, let's look at it from another
point of view. God's view.
As
Christians we are supposed to be the Bride of Christ, so let's think
of our relationship as a marriage, which it is supposed to be. Now
think about a marriage. Let us say that you are married and that
every morning when you get up, instead of your spouse kissing you
good morning and talking to you, asking how you slept, what you were
going to do for the day, etc., suppose they did the following. They
get up, completely ignore you by not talking to you at all, walk over
to a comfy chair in a corner, close their eyes, mumble something
under their breath, which is not really aimed at you, and start
chanting your name over and over for several minutes. Then they are
perfectly quiet for 15 more minutes or so. Then they recite
something, get out of the chair and get ready to do whatever they are
going to do for the day. They continue to ignore you, but when asked
by someone during the day how you are, they answer that you are fine,
because they experienced your presence that morning, and all was well
with the world. Then they come home, continue to ignore you and
before bed go through the same routine they did that morning. Now,
do you feel like they've “experienced” you? That they know you?
Or do you feel like you have been completely ignored and are
unappreciated? Do you know how they feel about you? Have they told
you? Have they said anything about how they appreciate something you
may have done for them? Have they asked you for any favors? Have they
asked you how you are? Have they told you how anyone else is that
they have seen that day? Have they brought you their concerns, their
joys, their hurts, their worries? Have they told you they loved you?
Have they said anything at all in fact to you? No. Do you feel
loved? Of course not. You feel hurt and ignored, don't you?
Wouldn't you hate it if your spouse did this day in and day out and
constantly were saying how they were showing you their love and
experiencing you, when in fact they were not communicating to you at
all? They don't know you at all? Well how do you think God feels?
He's a person too, you know. He has feelings too. He gets jealous,
and angry, and hurt, and grieves, and feels everything that we feel.
Where do you think we get these emotions? We are made in His image.
If you are practicing contemplative prayer, then shame on you. Go
ask God's forgiveness and start talking to Him.
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