A brief video interview with Peter Greig, the founder of the 24/7 Global Prayer Movement, offers examples of many of the problems with what is called Contemplative Prayer, the disciplines, or spiritual formation, and include practices such as Lectio Divina, the Immanuel Prayer/Examen/Approach, all of which fall under the umbrella of Contemplative Spirituality.
Greig, who is from the United Kingdom, has become more well known in the U.S. through people like John Mark Comer, and has been garnering a larger U.S. following. There are a number of online videos of Greig, especially appearing with Comer and/or Tyler Staton (who took over Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, after Comer left in 2021), many of which this writer watched. Tyler Staton is now the national director of 24/7 Prayer USA and author of Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools.
Wrong Ideas of Prayer
There were several points about prayer and Contemplative Prayer where Greig makes troubling remarks. Initially, I noticed seven points.
1. Greig starts off by mischaracterizing biblical prayer, viewing it as a “switch” to get things to happen. What he describes shows he was either never taught biblical prayer or possibly never understood it biblically. His depiction of prayer is a straw man. Given that Greig recommends Perenniaist and Richard Rohr associate David G. Benner in his book How To Pray (endorsed by Rohr associate and Enneagram teacher Ian Cron), it is not surprising that Greig perhaps does not understand prayer.
2. Greig claims that Contemplative Prayer is a Christian tradition. Maybe it is called that, but is it biblical? Just because some people claiming to be Christians practiced something does not make it biblical.
3. Greig then quotes Teresa of Avila and Richard Foster about prayer, neither of whom have biblical teachings in the area of prayer. Greig refers to Foster’s claim that talk recedes in the background and feeling comes to the forefront during contemplative prayer. Feeling while praying is fine but prayer is not mainly about feelings. This is another clue to the focus of contemplative prayer on experience over doctrine.
4. Greig claims that Contemplative Prayer is “wordless or quiet meditation upon Christ.” But every prayer in the Bible is verbal, of course; it is not wordless. (Verbal can be silent). Greig refers to Bible verses about meditating on God’s word. The problem is that what meditation means in the Bible is not what is taught as Contemplative Prayer. This is bait-and-switch where one thinks they are learning about biblical meditation when, in fact, they are learning practices from unbiblical monastic mysticism and Eastern meditation methods.
5. Greig states that Contemplative Prayer is “experiential rather than logical.” This is a false distinction. Experience is not contrary to being logical, and praying entails being logical or else one is not thinking or expressing him/herself. Words are based on logic or else they make no sense. The Bible is in words and is logical. Logic is rooted in God’s character. One cannot even reject logic without being logical, so it is self-refuting to try to make logic seem unnecessary or inferior (a thinking vs. feeling or experiencing dichotomy is a tactic this writer has observed in all Contemplative writings and teachings).
6. Greig states that “prayer at its best is two-way conversation.” I have come across this idea for years in Contemplative teachings. But nothing in Scripture indicates that we should expect God to answer us while praying. This false idea has become almost mainstream in the church and teachings on how to hear God have proliferated (thanks to Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, John Mark Comer, and many others). Scripture demonstrates prayer as praising, petitioning, and thanking God.
7. “At its deepest,” Greig continues, “prayer is communion; it’s silent, loving relationship with God.” By “communion,” according to Contemplatives, is meant entering the silence where one is supposedly in God’s presence and is no longer using words or thinking (see section “Beyond Thought”on page 2 of CANA Contemplative Prayer article). Comer has said that it is “looking at God looking at you.” This is a similar mental state that results from Eastern meditation, a state where the mind is in neutral and is open to any influence. But notice that Contemplatives consider this absorptive non-thinking state as prayer at its “deepest.”
Three Steps
There are three steps in the process of prayer, according to Greig.
1. The first one is meditation. Greig suggests repeating a “simple prayer phrase” and “breathing deeply.” However, nothing like this is modeled in Scripture. Repetition of words and breathing a certain way may be relaxing, even hypnotic, so one might feel calm or peaceful. But it cannot be called prayer according to how the Bible presents prayer, and the feelings evoked by such an exercise are artificial because they have been initiated via manmade methods.
2. The next step is moving from meditation to contemplation “when words become less necessary.” This is the contemplative focus on not using words. This is mysticism and is found in Eastern religions as well as in the New Age. Silence is always preferred because experiences have higher value than words in mysticism. This is why Thomas Keating said that “Silence is God’s First Language.” How would he know that anyway? And what evidence is there for it? Yet this quote is quite well known and repeated in contemplative literature. However, one of the first things we know about God in Scripture is that he spoke.
3. The third step is “communion.” Greig assets that at this stage, it is “when I am no longer consciously even doing this thing called worship or prayer.” It is like time stops and one has “stepped into eternity,” claims Greig. He then quotes a desert father, Anthony, that perfect prayer is when you do not know you are praying. What parallel to this is found in God’s word? None. Greig’s description of communion reminds me of what I experienced doing Eastern meditation, particularly mindfulness, the Zen Buddhist form of meditating.
When the interviewer asks about this process being rather difficult for most people, Greig tries to give parallels with events in life, such as going to a movie. He talks about how someone gets caught up in a movie being the same as contemplation. However, that is most assuredly not contemplation. Getting caught up in a movie is being entertained and most often engages at the emotional level. It is a sensory experience of the flesh which is fine for movies but is not the same as biblical contemplation.
Contemplating God’s word involves thinking and pondering, chewing on God’s word. It is prayerfully being sensitive to the Holy Spirit who illuminates Scripture (Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
Greig claims that it was in a state of contemplation that Isaiah received his commission (Isaiah chapter 6). However, that chapter recounts a vision given to Isaiah when Isaiah sees heavenly beings and the Lord speaks to him. Isaiah did nothing to have this vision or encounter. It is something God gave to Isaiah. That is a crucial contrast to the methods of Contemplative Prayer. (A parallel to Gregi’s idea about a state of contemplation is when Mackie talks about prophets being in other realities).
It is deeply ironic that the man who started the 24/7 GlobalPrayer movement teaches unbibical notions of prayer. Not surpristingly, the 24/7 Global Prayer movement reflects the problems of Grieg’s teachings. For example, this page on their site about hearing God in prayer grossly misuses two Bible verses with inaccurate interpretations, John 10:27 and Psalm 46:10. The section on hearing God (which encompasses several pages and videos) is rife with error.
Misuse of Scripture
Greig refers to several biblical passages, aside from Isaiah chapter 6, which he thinks supports his idea of Contemplative Prayer.
Psalm 19
Greig refers to the word “meditation” in Psalm 19 and then to part of Psalm 62:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
The word “meditation” in Psalm 19 has nothing to do with Contemplative Prayer. The word there has to do with pondering and thoughtful reflection. It is not a technique nor is it like what Greig and others teach.
Greig is committing the fallacy of equivocation on the word “meditation,” which can refer to different things depending on the source and context. The meditation taught in Contemplative practices is not what the Bible means by “meditation.”
Psalm 62 and Silence
Psalm 62 is appealed to by Contemplatives for the primacy and practice of silence, which they claim is biblical:
“For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” Psalm 62:1,2 (also see v. 5)
This passage, and others that use the word “silence,” are misused by Contemplatives to support their practices.
Psalm sixty-two’s “my soul waits in silence” needs to be seen in context. We need to first understand that when Contemplatives use the word “silence,” they do not mean simply not speaking or being quiet. They mean a silence as a state that you enter which is non-verbal and in which one is not supposed to actively think but to be receptive. Sometimes this silence is cultivated in order to “hear” God, usually inwardly, but more often it is supposedly how you feel God’s presence and/love.
This passage is not a directive to be silent when paying, and certainly it is not about the silence that Contemplatives teach. The Hebrew word “dumiyyah” means “a silence, a quiet waiting, repose.” There are not two separate words here, just one word for “waiting in silence.” The Psalmist is expressing submission to and trust in the Lord as his refuge. It may also be a contrast to verse 11 which states, “God has spoken once.” God has spoken and there is nothing to say, there is only the need to trust. The Psalmist is reminding himself of God’s power and faithfulness.
Psalm 46
Greig refers to “be still and know that I am God” in Psalm 46:10, and states that “there is something about stillness that enables us to encounter God.” This verse is probably the most misused verse for Contemplative Prayer.
There is a CANA article on this which points out that this Psalm is partly a rebuke from God and a reminder from God that people need to remember he is in charge. Moreover, the words “be still” are perhaps better translated as “cease striving” as found in the NASB.
First Thessalonians 5
Greig brings up 1 Thessalonians 5:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (vv. 16-18)
Paul, of course, is not talking about contemplative prayer. This is about an attitude of prayer, of focusing on the Lord so that prayer comes naturally. I don’t see how any reasonable person would think this passage supports the techniques of Contemplative Prayer.
In fact, looking at other passages using the word “silence,” we find that it is a silence that refers to submission or sometimes to shame, because there is nothing one can say to God when one has gone against him (Habakkuk 2:20) or it can be a silence of awe as in Revelation 8:1. This CANA article discusses how two passages are misused by Contemplatives.
Using an Icon for Contemplation
Astoundingly, Greig ends the discussion by suggesting they contemplate a Coptic icon. An icon is considered a sacred image to be used for devotional worship. It usually depicts Jesus or a church saint, but it goes beyond being an image. Contemplating an icon is supposed to bring the person into the heavenly realm. Icons are used in Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox churches. (I have seen a wall of icons in an orthodox church in Macedonia and a display of icons in Washington, DC).
“Hand-painted Orthodox icons are usually called ‘windows into heaven.’ The fact is that it is believed that religious icons connect us with the spiritual world. They don’t just depict holy persons or some facts and scenes from the Bible but also reveal the spiritual truth about the depicting subject via numerous meaningful symbols inherent to the religious icon art. This is directly related to the tradition of kissing Orthodox icons. This action is not an expression of love for the religious icon – it is an expression of love for the holy person depicted.” From “Orthodox Icons: History and Meaning”
The article states that icons and saints are not worshiped but rather are venerated. But this is a distinction without a difference. And the idea that one is connected to the “spiritual world” by looking at an icon is an esoteric practice that fits well in the occult and New Age.
The 5th century icon Greig refers to is of Jesus and Abbot Mena, the oldest known Coptic icon according to several online sources. Greig points out several facts about the icon although, rather significantly, he leaves out the spiritual beliefs about icons. But what Greig has done in this interview is that he has given the green signal on contemplating icons.
An icon can be appreciated historically and artistically, but it has no ability to bring one into the heavenly realm, and it should not be an object of prayerful contemplation. This is closer to idolatry if it is not outright idolatry. God has given his very word for contemplation (meaning reflecting and pondering). Since the Bible is the living word of God, one can be edified, taught, and encouraged by contemplating passages in it.
The mysticism inherent in current Contemplative teachings is rapidly taking over churches and ministries. It weakens sound doctrine and undermines Scripture. As has been shown here, Scripture is always misused in Contemplative teachings, so discernment and vigilance are needed.
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