If you’re not sure if praying with your heart is scriptural, or if you think it’s in any way dangerous to your walk with the Lord, this article helps you decide.

I’m going to evaluate the 2 main theological objections that some Christians continue to raise.

And then I’m going to look at the more personal objections that you yourself or others you know might have to praying in this way.

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Over the years, people from several Christian denominations —and not just the lay people but leaders, pastors and clergy —have  condemned this way of prayer on 2 main theological counts:

1. It’s not Biblical
2. It allows the devil to enter into your prayer because it requires you to “empty/blank you mind”

As a result, some Christian women have been dissuaded from praying in this way.

In this article, we’ll first look closer at these 2 objections.

Then, we’ll look at the more personal objections that keep people from praying in this way.

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There’s absolutely no question about it.

You have to be wise and prayerful about committing yourself to any teachings on Christian prayer or other spiritual truths that might come your way.

You need to ask God’s help in discerning if a particular Christian teaching is coming from Him rather than from some well-intentioned but misguided soul. 

This is absolutely obligatory.

At all times, you must keep your gaze squarely on Jesus. If you ask Him, He WILL ALWAYS guide you along the right path.

After all—never forget this! — you are His beloved daughter.

Being wise and imploring the Lord’s help is not just a good thing to do.

It’s what you MUST do.

Otherwise, you can find yourself departing from the foundational Christian truths as taught by Jesus and affirmed by the writers of the New Testament.

Nevertheless, at the same time it is equally obligatory for followers of Christ to carefully sift through the objections and criticisms of some Christians to this way of praying in order to see if they are justified or false.

This, too, is a crucial exercise for any serious follower of Christ.

 

Definition of Prayer of the Heart

Before we look at the 2 main theological objections, let us remind ourselves of what prayer of the heart actually is.

Prayer of the heart is a form of contemplative prayer.

All contemplative prayer is a form of prayer in which the person praying makes a conscious decision to let go of thoughts, words, feelings, and images.

The single intention of all contemplative prayer is to enter more fully and directly into the presence of the Lord than is possible in the forms of prayer where you depend on using words, thoughts, feelings and images.

This in no way means that you should only pray contemplatively.

In fact, all other forms (e. g. intercessory, praise, worship) of prayer are not just commendable; they are necessary.

What then is the role of contemplative prayer?

It is to fulfill God’s wish that we all experience Him in the same way Jesus experienced Him; namely, as Abba, LOVING FATHER! When we experience the Father in this way, we experience God as he really is, not so much as our idea of who He is!

Other forms of prayer are often less able to do this as fully or thoroughly.

It is this unique experience of the Father that deepens and enriches all our other forms of prayer.

 

Theological Objections

Here are some of the reasons put forward by Christian people who object to contemplative prayer:

1. This way of prayer is about making the mind blank.
2. The devil can enter in when your mind is blank.
3. This way of prayer is not biblical.
4. This way of prayer rejects images, thoughts and feelings.

OBJECTION

Let’s take the first objection.

Does contemplative prayer make the mind blank?

ANSWER

No, it does not. This claim is absolutely wrong. Contemplative prayer does not make the mind blank.

This way of prayer teaches you to LET GO of thoughts, feelings, words, and images. It NEVER teaches you to empty your mind! It never teaches you to fight off your thoughts, words, images, and feelings.

On the contrary, it takes your thoughts absolutely for granted. It recognizes fully that it’s your human nature to think, to feel, and to imagine.

Here’s what IS true. In this prayer, you hand over/surrender your thoughts to the Lord. They are now HIS responsibility. He uses your thoughts in the way He knows is best for you.

OBJECTION

Now let’s look at the second objection. Can the devil enter in when you pray contemplatively?

ANSWER

When your mind is stimulated by speaking, thinking, feeling and imagining, it is not quieted and stilled enough to be fully present to God or to listen to Him deeply with the ears of your heart. Your ability to hear God speak to you clearly outside the time of contemplative prayer is also diminished.

There is a far greater chance of the devil entering into your mind/thinking/prayer when you DON’T let go of thoughts, words, images, and feelings, because you simply can’t control every thought or feeling you might have.

OBJECTION

Let’s look at the third objection: This way of prayer is not biblical.

ANSWER

Please see this article. 

OBJECTION

Let’s look at the fourth objection.

Does contemplative prayer REJECT images, thoughts and feelings?

ANSWER

Contemplative prayer does not REJECT images, thoughts and feelings? It LETS GO of them!

These are 2 fundamentally different things.

Personal objections

OBJECTION

Jan, I’d be completely lost, at loose ends, with this way of prayer. I don’t have the experience that you and other women have.

ANSWER

You don’t need experience!

The only requirement for praying in this way is that you are a human being who sincerely wants to deepen her friendship with the Lord, to make more ‘real’ her understanding of  her journey with Him, and/or who needs God’s help urgently in any way for any reason.

OBJECTION

I’m a TYPE A achiever. I need to sink my teeth into things and see quick, tangible results.

ANSWER

You can certainly sink your teeth into this way of prayer.

BUT you sink your teeth into practicing letting go, into surrendering.

For the few minutes of your prayer, you’re consciously handing yourself over to God so that He can more fully and deeply communicate to you the fullness of life He has waiting for you (John 10:10).

You will get tangible results. But you don’t always get them QUICKLY. All worthwhile things take time. And this way of prayer is an EXCEPTIONALLY worthwhile thing!

OBJECTION

Why should I bother to grow my friendship/relationship with God?

ANSWER

Isn’t your personal transformation into the image of Jesus the single goal of your Christian life and journey?

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Romans 8: 29 NIV

So you need to grow and mature into the image of the Lord in order to become the woman God wants you to be. And to help you do this, God needs your permission and your cooperation.

It’s true that you ‘are God’s field, God’s building’ (1 Corinthians 3:9, my emphasis). But it’s equally true that God needs your cooperation to shape that building into His image:

The apostle Paul explains that you and the Lord are ‘are co-workers in God’s service…’ (1 Corinthians 3:9, my emphasis)

OBJECTION

One or two friends, including a senior pastor, have told me I just need more conversion, that’s all. Isn’t this enough?

ANSWER

Yes, more conversion is always enough.

But remember that all genuine and meaningful conversion is ongoing.

In other words, baptism and being born again are only the beginning, not the end, of your journey with God. For the entire duration of your life, if you allow Him, God keeps transforming you into His image, even though you are not necessarily conscious of this when it’s actually happening.

Your part is to remain OPEN to an ongoing conversion, to give God a free hand in it.

Please don’t put limits on how the Lord wants to help you.

OBJECTION

Wouldn’t simply studying the scriptures or listening to a really good CD bring me the benefits you are talking about?

ANSWER

I certainly would never rule out the benefits of a particular CD that speaks strongly to you. The Lord can, and does, use anything to communicate to you.

If by studying the scriptures you mean reading them through an intellectual lens, then my answer would be an emphatic ‘No’.

If, however, you combine scripture reading with a few minutes of praying with your heart, my answer would be a resounding ‘Yes’. The two together profoundly enhance your closeness to the Lord. And with closeness come huge unexpected benefits. You are now fully positioned to receive the growth in God that He has always wished for you.

OBJECTION

I don’t have the time

ANSWER

If you really need help from the Lord, you’ll be motivated to put aside the time to pray in this way.

Who can’t find 5 – 10 minutes each day, or 10 minutes 3 times each week, the same time it takes you to enjoy your daily cup of coffee!

I well understand the enormous pressures on your time and energy. I myself was once a married woman with 2 small children. Later on, I also had work responsibilities managing a busy oral surgical practice and guiding Christian women.

So I’ve been ‘there’ myself. In fact, I’m still there! I have the pressures of this work I do for you on my website. And I still have to cook and clean and do the washing up. I also have to babysit and guide my grandkids when needed! And after all, I’m still the Mum of 2 adult daughters. I still have to be available to them and to their needs from time to time.

Get further inspiration by reading Michelle’s story.  And discover how prayer of the heart came to Sonia’s rescue during Covid  

Think about Your Benefits

See here for your benefits.

There IS Additional Help for You!

1.   The Holy Spirit

If you can’t find a personal spiritual guide with whom you’re completely at ease, remember that the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS your ultimate spiritual guide.

 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—”

John 14:16 NIV

If you continue to ask and seek the Spirit’s guidance, He will do this competently, because your ultimate spiritual Guide is the Holy Spirit himself!

Here are the Holy Spirit’s functions in your journey. He

• helps you live your life with God the Father and His Son Jesus at your side at all times (I will not leave you as orphans… John 14:18 NIV)
• enables you to experience God’s great love for you (…because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit… Romans 5:5 NIV)
• guides you (John 14:16)
• teaches you the truth (John 14:16, 17)
• reminds you of everything Jesus said (John 14:26)
• stands alongside you and strengthen you (John 14:16, 26)
• is Jesus’ representative to you on earth (John 14)

2.  This Website Helps You

My articles on this website also function as reliable spiritual guidance for you. In fact, I have designed this entire website precisely to offer you the gift of spiritual guidance. And so do my FREE Guides.

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And watch my website for my upcoming teaching webinars.

Dealing with the Cynics

Objections can come in another form: namely, cynicism.

Some folks have sniggered when, on the odd occasion, I might have happened to mention that this way of prayer enables me to connect to God directly. They say: ‘So you really believe you have a hotline to God?’

ANSWER

It is not possible for the human intellect or natural mind to grasp spiritual realities (1 Corinthians 2:14).  We can therefore expect many people to actively (and, very honestly,) doubt that we are able to experience God directly —His presence, LOVE, peace and joy —and hear Him speaking to us directly. 

Until they come to know the Lord with their heart, they will be unable to access these truths.

We need to respect these people’s point of view but at the same time not allow their objections to rattle us. Furthermore, we never achieve our spiritual abilities and gifts through our own merit but solely by God’s grace. They are gifts!

Remembering this fact should always keep us humble when facing objections or criticism.

A note of Caution

It is certainly true that we need to discern carefully, with the Lord’s ready help, as to whether what we have heard is truly from the Lord, for Satan is capable of masquerading as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and our own imagination is capable of misleading us.

 

Time to Think Again

Thanks to my work of guiding Christian women for over a quarter of a century, I know that prayer of the heart is an unparalleled lifesaver to Christian women who want to deepen their understanding of their God and their journey, faith, and prayer; and/or who want or need to connect urgently to the Lord for whatever reason. 

The Christian women I’ve guided continue to live the real, meaningful, and thoroughly dependable relationship with God that this form of prayer brings with it, and to be rewarded by the huge benefits it brings to their lives and to the lives of all those whom they touch —their spouses, kids and grandkids, their faith congregations, work colleagues, friends and neighbours. 

 

My Bottom-Line Message to You

When you need to connect to God urgently, you don’t need more Bible studies, sermons, CD’s, more advice from trusted friends, or even more prayer groups.

These are all critical things for any Christian woman. But the time for these is not when you need to connect to God urgently.

You need 3 things ONLY and you need them as soon as is practically possible:

• to know how to experience firsthand for yourself the Lord’s Presence, love and rest/peace
• to develop the confidence to present your anxieties and problems to the Lord honestly, holding nothing back; to develop the confidence to ask Him questions; and then have the confidence to expect Him to answer you
• a reliable, trustworthy Christian spiritual guide to help you do this

Note

If you can’t find a trustworthy, trained guide with whom you can be completely at ease and comfortable, rely 100% on the Holy Spirit.

As I repeatedly remind everyone, He is always your ultimate spiritual Guide anyway!

Once you’ve got hold of these 3 things, then you can and must return to your Bible studies, prayer groups, sermons, and CD’s.

At this point you will make an amazing discovery:

…namely, that when you know how to enter into and experience the Lord’s Presence, love and rest, and when you know how to present your anxieties and problems to Him honestly, ask Him questions and hear Him answer —then your Bible studies, prayer groups, sermons, and special CD’s suddenly take on an amazing new life!

Your understanding of and relationship with the Lord expands  in ways you wouldn’t have expected. And, for the rest of your life, you will live the full, top-quality life that the Lord has always had in mind and wanted to give you (John 10: 10).

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Get more help.
Watch out for my teaching webinar coming up in the next 2 months.