Not that kind of prayer!

He lived on my street when I was a little girl. I think he's even in an old picture in our family photo album. A cute boy with soft brown eyes and dark hair, if I remember correctly. His parents were very nice. Christian family. I could picture him with grey hair and a few lines in his face now as I clicked my mouse and listened to him on the internet. Preaching. About prayer.

But what was this I heard him saying? Oh no...this is not the kind of prayer I know. It's that kind of prayer.

Now I'm picturing the faces of the people I know, sitting on those soft comfy pews I once sat in, being introduced to Lawrence and Frank. Mystics. One danced violently like a madman when "God" came upon him, the other said Mohammed was helping him. There was also a casual referral to James H. Ah yes, I've heard Mr. Houston speak too, such a pleasant man....I remember very well sitting there in amazement while Mr. H recommended Thomas Merton, and talked endlessly about meditating and chanting, early fathers, Fransiscan friars chanting the daily office, monks chanting Gregorian chants of psalms, meditations of early church fathers(Catholic mystics) who meditated on the Psalms, and how this meditation affected them, such as the, “fire of love, making them hot and burning within,” etc. Mysticism, Merton, mantras and monks...since when is this the kind of prayer God hears?

And so it bothered me greatly that now our old friends were most likely sitting and listening, and soaking this in. At least, as I listened on line, it didn't sound like anyone stood up and interrupted this talk and said, hey, wait a minute. Is this what the word of God says? No, they wouldn't, because it sounded so nice, so charming, so relaxing, so casual, so truthful. And it was being taught to them by an old friend that they too had perhaps known since childhood.

But I believe the boy from my old neighbourhood, as sincere as he may be today, has been deceived, like so many these days. The kind of prayer method he talks about is so well received by many who want to sit in comfy cozy sacred spaces and experience the divine presence God. Finding regular prayer boring, it naturally follows that once they've tried contemplative prayer and found the silence, they want to feel that comfy floaty euphoric God buzz through out the day. It's called practicing the presence. Buddhists do it all the time. They call it mindfulness. Google it and see for yourself. But then RW, America's most influential pastor, recommends these same prayer guys and their books and things (here), so it's really not surprising.

You see, it's these guys, the Lawrences and the Franks and their little books, the 'in between' prayer guys, that are slipping into churches everywhere in nice cozy sermons that sound more like conversations in a cafe over a Latte. Of course, not much is ever said about them, they're just mentioned while their methods are made to sound so nice and biblical and Christian. The things these guys wrote in their nice little books perhaps do not appear to be as blatantly over the edge as Merton or Keating (with their sufism and their New Agey associations) but the path they will lead you to is just as slippery, all the way to the contemplative cliff that so many sheep are sliding over these days.

Take Frank Laubach, who is listed by Richard Foster as one of his top fav mystics...

RICHARD FOSTER AND HIS 100 SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

Now, Frank, a 'modern mystic' and missionary who lived in the last century, wrote a book that's called Letters by a Modern Mystic, which, by the way, is endorsed very favorably by Dallas Willard.

Here's a quote:

"Living in the atmosphere of Islam is proving --thus far --a tremendous spiritual stimulus. Mohammed is helping me. I have no more intention of giving up Christianity and becoming a Muhammadan than I had twenty years ago, but I find myself richer for the Islamic experience of God. Islam stresses the will of God. It is supreme. We can not alter any of His mighty decrees. To try to do so means annihilation. Submission is the first and last duty of man.

"I must confront these Moros with a divine love which will speak Christ to them though I never use his name. They must see God in me, and I must see God in them. Not to change the name of their religion, but to take their hand and say, 'Come, let us look for God.'"

-Frank Laubach, Letters By a Modern Mystic

This experience and the Islamic emphasis upon constant submission seems to have been one factor prompting Frank to practice the presence, just like Brother Lawrence. It was because of a dissatisfaction in his relationship with God that Mr. Laubach began practicing a spiritual experiment of keeping in touch with God. He tells in the book how he started trying to live all his waking moments in conscious listening to the inner voice. Like Brother Lawrence did 300 some years before him, and he learned it from some mystics that lived before him.

Brother Lawrence, who repeated his prayers often during the day to get into God's presence, said:

"I make it my priority to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I maintain a simple attention and a fond regard for God, which I may call an actual presence of God. Or, to put it another way, it is an habitual, silent, and private conversation of the soul with God."

Brother Lawrence, Practicing the Presence of God

By the way, this book is in every Christian book store, including the one in my town, and in every big box secular book store (in the Christianity section).

Unbeknownst to the sheep, who haven't been fed the right spiritual food and have malnourished minds, this lie is taking a hold on them. They are believing that there is something THEY can do to get themselves into the presence of God. When in fact, the Bible says that we only have access to God through what Jesus has done, not by any religious practice we can do, or attempt to do. Pagan religions all around the world have been trying to do this for centuries, to no avail.

What's the big deal, some say, we can learn from other religions, these are all different streams which we can draw from. They have all stolen from Christianity, they say. Catholic monks, mystics, they all knew God, didn't they? Well just do a little research for yourself and see if what they believed is something we can really draw from as true Christians. If it ain't in the Bible, it ain't living water, and if it ain't living water from the fountain of life, it's dredged up muck from the bottom of the different streams flowing from this world's religions. Which water would you rather drink?

For further reading:

Brother Lawrence - Contemplative Monk
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com

2000 Years of Deception and Error: Carmelites: Brother Lawrence
justthebook.wordpress.com

NOTE: By the way, let me just add one more thing. I believe that another danger of this kind of prayer - the tune out and soak in God's presence kind of thing - is distracting many Christians from the urgency of the hour and the great commission.

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Please pray for churches that are allowing contemplative spirituality to be taught from the pulpit. Pray that the Holy Spirit through the Word of God will convict their hearts, and that bold Christians will rise up and speak the truth.