(revised 07/03/14)
Contemplatives literally desire to hear God directly, to hear His audible voice, rather than “hearing” God through His Word the Bible. Their primary modus operandi is an experiential altered state of consciousness, rather than the reading/study of God’s Word the Bible.
For example:
“At the Passion 2012 conference, Beth Moore, John Piper, Louie Giglio and company taught/led an entire sports arena (45,000 college aged students) in (attempting to ‘hear’ God’s voice). My son’s friends in attendance of this conference told of a young girl standing outside the arena crying her eyes out because she had not heard the audible voice of God as they had instructed. Others tried to comfort her but were also distraught at not hearing a thing.”
Source: http://solasisters.blogspot.com/2012/02/cant-hear-god-speak-repent-says-henry.html
This reminds me of my Quaker lineage in the generations before the Evangelical Friends (who were more Wesleyan Holiness than Quaker, my branch in the 1870s rejecting the Inner Light). I’m ashamed of my ancestors in the 1600s-1860s who taught the Inner Light, Christ in every man. They believed you could hear God’s voice directly like George Fox supposedly did (direct illumination or immediate revelation), then God’s Word the Bible – being secondary – would verify it. This is what Richard Foster and Dallas Willard taught as co-pastors in the Evangelical Friends. I would say Foster and Willard set the Evangelical Friends off track and backwards 400 years to George Fox’s “hearing God’s voice audibly” heresy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_light
Check out this quote from Richard Foster, found here:
“Yet God speaks in many ways. We need to learn to listen for His voice. Normally, His voice is not audible … but I wouldn’t want to exclude that possibility. Who am I to say how God will choose to speak?” (Richard Foster, 5 Misconceptions That Hinder Prayer, quoted here.)
Personally, I would like to find more discernment resources exposing the ties between contemplative prayer, Eastern contemplative practices, New Age meditation, the Quaker Inner Light heresy, Christian universalism, etc. etc.
I’m Googling “hearing God’s audible voice”. Other than the prophets in Bible times, I would say 99.99% of those today who claim to hear God’s audible, human voice on a regular basis are:
a) pyschotic
or
b) deceived by demons, after entering a trancelike state/altered state of mind (ala Richard Foster’s contemplative prayer practices or Todd Bentley’s soaking prayer)
or
c) deceiving others for their own self-gain
Note that I say 99.99% (9,999 out of 10,000), not 100%. Like many Wesleyan Holiness people, I would consider myself a “soft cessationist”, not a continuationist or cessationist. I do believe people can hear God’s audible voice today – but it would be very rare, not the norm for all Christians as many are teaching nowadays. Here’s an article which matches my position, soft cessationism: http://worthen.wordpress.com/2006/01/13/cessationism-v-continuationism/
I hope to add to this blog, as I find more discernment articles on this…
FOR FURTHER READING
AGAINST hearing God’s audible voice:
Does God ever speak in an audible voice today?
Repost: Gary Gilley blasts Quaker-ish “Hearing God” teaching of Dallas Willard
H. D. Williams, The Voice of the Lord (In Relation to Revelation, Conscience, Inspiration, Illumination, and Postmodernism)
FOR hearing God’s audible voice:
Hearing God’s Voice and Obeying His Word – a dialogue with Richard Foster and Henri Nouwen, Leadership Journal
Google eBook excerpt in which Todd Bentley describes how he hears God’s audible voice
I would recommend “Critical Issues Commentary” [available online at cicministry.org]. Bob DeWaay has been addressing these issues [with documentation] for several years. I think it needs to be noted that if people are refusing to look for the voice and will of God through Scripture, God is not going to speak to them any other way. Jesus made that point very clear in Luke 16:31.
Thanks for the feedback and the lead, Dave. God bless you!
A Call for Discernment: Strange Fire in Global Children’s Ministry Movement Minimizes Authority and Truth of Scripture
http://www.HeroicDads.com/
Thanks for the link, Steve. With your approval, I’d like to repost your article on my blogsite (I’ll provide a link giving you credit for your article). God bless you – Dave
I find it interesting that a person could offhandedly claim that the overwhelming majority of those who claim to hear God’s voice are either insane or demon possessed. Further that you would make this claim while purporting to honor the Bible. A Bible that is literally filled with accounts of people hearing from God.
A Bible that you must certainly believe was canonized by those who heard from God. A Bible that was penned by those who heard from God. A Bible that tells us that we should hear from God. Your view seems to be nominally Christian and spiritually Atheistic. Either God is real or He is not. Certainly a living God did not stop speaking and talking two thousand years ago.
(revised 07/05/14)
Thomas, thanks for the comments – you make some good points. But would you say we should hear an audible, human voice from God on a regular or even a daily basis? (It amazes me that so many today are teaching this.)
Let me clarify my position. Because of my Wesleyan Holiness background, I do believe the Holy Spirit can work supernaturally today if He so chooses. And I believe God can speak to us directly today – with a miraculous leading from the Holy Spirit (such as a “divine appointment”), or a “still small voice” (an “impression”), or even a literal, audible human voice.
But we should never make a literal, audible human voice the norm – only the exception to the rule. To me, God “speaks” usually when I read His Word the Bible, then pray to God to help me interpret what it means. Because I am a born again Christian totally committed to the Lord, His Holy Spirit is very real to me, and when I’m “walking right” with the Lord He “impresses” on my spirit a sense that I am discerning correctly and interpreting His Word correctly.
My view is nothing new or heretical. On the contrary, my view is basely strongly on one of the keystones of the Protestant Reformation – Sola Scriptura. See for example: http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_sola_sproul.html
The Five Solas have stood the test of time (as have the King James Bible, hymns, altar calls, etc.) – up until the 1970s. Not to sound old fashioned, but in these End Times we need to get back to a solid foundation doctrinally. I don’t know what your church background is, but mine is evangelical. Looking around, I see evangelical churches doctrinally falling like flies all around me, into postmodern (Emerging/Emergent) teachings especially. A big part of this downfall is due to Spiritual Formation, which places great emphasis on contemplative spirituality. In this practice, anyone – even nonchristians – can get close to God through centering prayer, labyrinth prayer, etc. Where is God’s Word the Bible in all this? Certainly these people are not following the doctrine of Sola Scriptura, when they place “hearing God’s voice” and “communing with God” on a higher priority than directly reading and interpreting His Word the Bible.
BTW, for further explanation, I expanded the section of my blog describing “God-hearers” as insane or demon possessed. God bless you – Dave
Hi, I’d like to comment on the contemplative prayer blog. I appreciate the energy and enthusiasm that you put into your words. I thank God that you are there to challenge apostasy. I’d like to say a few works in defense of contemplative prayer. I’m a well grounded assemblies of God member with an in depth Bible education and sound doctrine. I’ve known and loved the Lord for many years. What I sought was not words, I wanted Him. So close that there was no distance between us. I wanted more of Him. So I prayed in my closet for months seeking, longing for God, loving Him. I quieted my mind, but leaned to Him in the depths of my Heart. It happened, and there are no words I can possibly come up with to describe the feeling. He had pity on me and opened the door. It was like a nuclear bomb of absolute happiness, peace, sorrow, purpose. I live in that everyday my treasure above anything on earth. I cherish God’s word, and hold to this wonder in my heart. I don’t hear his voice, Its like me and Him share the same body. My love for Christ is so great. I hope this helps a little. I understand if you have doubts and concerns about it. I wish I could share this with everyone. I promise you that this is not evil and doesn’t conflict with His word. “he who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide in the shadow of the almighty”
Thanks for sharing your experience, RonKaz. I understand that for you, contemplative prayer (CP) is a very real experience of God’s presence. I don’t have a problem with seeking God’s presence, desiring to have a real, personal experience with the Holy Spirit (for me this is something very real as well, having a Wesleyan Holiness background and attending biblically sound AOG (Assemblies of God) churches at several periods in my life). I do have a problem with this statement: “I promise you that this is not evil and doesn’t conflict with His word.”
Sorry, but I would have to disagree. I don’t believe we should use contemplative prayer to seek God’s presence. I think we need to ask ourselves several questions about CP:
1) Question – What are the origins of contemplative prayer?
Answer – Primarily Christian mystics among the Desert Fathers, Christian mystics in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, Christian mystics among the Quakers, and the mysticism of Eastern religions (especially Buddhism). In my opinion, none of these groups can be said to be born again.
2) Q – What individuals are popularizing contemplative prayer? Are they born again and biblically sound?
A – Thomas Merton (Catholic/Buddhist), Dallas Willard (mainline/liberal Protestant), Richard Foster (mainline/liberal Protestant/Quaker), etc. None of these have given a clear testimony of being born again, and in my mind they are definitely not biblically sound.
3) Q – What denominations and religions tout contemplative prayer? Are they born again and biblically sound?
A – Today many evangelical denominations tout CP. But before 1978 – when Richard Foster came on the scene with his bestseller “Celebration of Discipline” – CP methods were practiced primarily in Roman Catholicism and mainline/liberal denominations. Neither of these groups are born again and biblically sound.
4) Q – What exactly is contemplative prayer, and does the Bible itself teach contemplative prayer? What are the dangers and false teachings of contemplative prayer?
A – To me, the core of CP is quieting one’s mind, emptying one’s mind of outside thoughts so one’s mind can be clear and open to “hearing God’s voice” (usually inaudibly). Nowhere in the Bible do I see a clear teaching of emptying one’s mind during prayer/devotions. On the contrary, in the gospels for example Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father which are in Heaven…” We are to immediately focus on God and His Word, “zooming in” on what God wants to teach us or tell us. In the process this “forces out” extraneous thoughts. I believe that seeking an in-between period of an “empty mind” opens one to demonic influences. (This is especially true for nonchristians and immature born again Christians.) In essence, one runs a very real risk of entering an altered state of consciousness or “trance”. The deeper the trance, the more one is exposed to possible demonic counterfeit “visits” from the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, angels, “deceased loved ones”, “Mary”, “saints”, etc. Also, one may have demonic counterfeit “third heaven visitations”.
I assume you’ve heard of Todd Bentley. Bentley and others like him have connections with the AOG denomination. Bentley claims to have been visited by a female heavenly angel, Emma – yet there are no female angels mentioned in the Bible. Seems to me Emma is clearly demonic. See more on Emma in this article about Bentley: https://tarrynotministries.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/todd-bentley/ Plus Bentley claims to regularly have “third heaven visitations”. And as alluded to above, Bentley is just one of the people influencing the AOG with the teaching of contemplative prayer, as well as various other bizarre teachings and practices.
But enough about the AOG. Back to my point – there are many red flags in contemplative prayer that should warn us to stay away from it. There are many discernment articles on the Internet that give the above warnings in more detail, as well as providing warnings re: additional aspects of CP. In spite of what you feel has been a positive, biblical experience with CP, I believe the teaching of CP has been very damaging to the born again Body of Christ.
Hope that helps clarify my position. Again, RonKaz, thanks for your comments. God bless you – Dave