MB Seminary Promotes Labyrinth Prayer

It is very late, and perhaps I should be studying for my 3 final exams coming up in the next 5 days, but I feel I must post about something that both angers and saddens me. I just read a blog from fortheauthor about the MB seminary in Fresno that offers a spiritual formation class where students "must be willing to try a variety of spiritual practices". Click here to go to the course outline.

Some of these practices include "The Jesus Prayer", "Labyrinth Prayer", and "Lectio Divina" and daily "Guided Meditation". These practices are man-made attempts to reach God. But through the Bible, God has already provided us with all we need to know about prayer and how to pray. Prayer is simply talking to God. In fact, we aren't supposed to use vain repetitions:

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Matthew 6:7

Sure, these methods may be "spiritual" practices, but are they biblical? Definitely not. To say that anything "spiritual" is of God is ridiculous; clearly there are evil spiritual forces as well. The Bible is clear in Ephesians 6:12 that we are in a spiritual battle against spiritual forces of evil. The question is, which side are you on, and who are you fighting for?

Why does Richard Foster, a well-known contemplative professing-Christian, recommend we should pray a prayer of protection before trying these practices? He says to pray something like "All dark and evil spirits must now leave" on p. 157 of his book Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home.

Roger Oakland states the following about this:

"Nowhere in Scripture are we required to pray a prayer of protection before we pray. The fact that Foster recognizes that contemplative prayer is dangerous and opens the door to the fallen spirit world is very revealing. What is this--praying to the God of the Bible but instead reaching demons?" (page 99 Faith Undone by Roger Oakland)

Likely the devil is laughing at this-that Christians would purposely put themselves into a state where they could potentially reach demons (Remember 2 Corinthians 11 tells us that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and his ministers transform themselves into ministers of righteousness) , while God is probably grieving and angry as Christians attempt to use pagan methods to reach a holy God. Let us not forget that when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire to God, he killed them. God is a holy God, and it seems many people these days are lacking a proper fear for God.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11 "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ."

Unfortunately, it seems many are being deceived and led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ by trying all kinds of man-made pagan techniques to reach God. We need to point out this error to warn others and also pray that people will realize this is not only unbiblical but dangerous. Pray that the Holy Spirit would convict those participating in this and that they would repent.