What is centering prayer?

Centering prayer is a modern contemplative practice that emphasizes interior silence and the use of a sacred word to return to quiet when distracted. Advocates describe it as a method of consenting to God’s presence, though approaches and definitions vary.

Is centering prayer biblical?

Scripture commands believers to pray with faith, understanding, and reverence—addressing the living God with minds engaged and hearts dependent on His Word. Any prayer practice should be evaluated by biblical teaching and the sufficiency of Scripture.

What’s the difference between biblical meditation and centering prayer?

Biblical meditation fills the mind with God’s Word—pondering, applying, and responding in worship and obedience. Centering prayer typically aims at inner stillness by reducing mental content, which can shift the focus away from Word-shaped communion with God.

Does silence have a place in the Christian life?

Yes. Scripture commends quietness, reflection, and stillness before the Lord. But Christian silence is not an emptying technique; it serves attentive listening, repentance, and prayer shaped by God’s revealed Word.

What are the dangers of contemplative prayer techniques?

When a technique prioritizes altered states, emptying the mind, or “wordless” experiences as the goal, it can subtly detach spirituality from Scripture, encourage subjectivism, and blur boundaries with practices drawn from non-Christian mysticism.

How should Christians practice prayer biblically?

Pray to the Father through the Son by the Spirit, with Scripture informing your requests, confession, thanksgiving, and worship. Use the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer, and apostolic prayers as models, and pray in humble dependence on God’s promises.

Centering Prayer Examined: Scripture, Silence, and Spiritual Deception

Name: Centering Prayer Examined: Scripture, Silence, and Error
Uploaded: 2026-01-01
Channel: Dave Jenkins
Description: In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins examines centering prayer through the lens of Scripture, exposing contemplative mysticism and calling believers back to biblical prayer and the sufficiency of God’s Word.

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 2 min read

Centering Prayer Examined, Scripture, Silence, and Spiritual Deception

Show Summary

Is centering prayer a biblical form of prayer, or does it subtly replace God’s Word with experience? In this episode of Contending for the Word, Dave Jenkins is joined by Marcia Montenegro to examine centering prayer and contemplative mysticism in light of Scripture. While often presented as ancient, quiet, and spiritually enriching, these practices raise serious concerns about prayer, revelation, and the authority of God’s Word. This episode offers a careful, pastoral, and biblical critique, calling Christians to discernment, faithfulness to Scripture, and confidence in the sufficiency of Christ.

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Episode Notes

Key Scriptures

Hebrews 1:1–2
Hebrews 4:14–16
Colossians 2:8
Romans 12:1–2
Psalm 1
Joshua 1:8
Matthew 6

What We Cover

What centering prayer teaches and how it is commonly practiced.
How contemplative mysticism differs from biblical prayer.
Why silence and technique are treated as pathways to God.
How experience can quietly replace Scripture as authority.
The theological roots of these practices and how they entered evangelical churches.
Why sincerity does not determine truth.
What Scripture teaches about prayer, meditation, and communion with God.

Takeaways

Prayer is communion with God through Christ, not a technique for altered states.
God’s Word is sufficient, and it must govern how we pray and how we discern.
Silence can be a good gift, but it is not a means of revelation.
Discernment requires testing every practice by Scripture.

Call to Action

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For more biblically faithful resources, articles, and podcasts, visit our page at Contending for the Word at Servants of Grace at YouTube.

Dave Jenkins

Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.