![]() With this word you are to strike down every kind of thought under the cloud of forgetting. Take just a little word, of one syllable rather than of two . The book is a primer on contemplative prayer and in it instructs: For those of you unfamiliar with contemplative jargon, the “cloud of unknowing” is taken from a small book of the same name, written by an anonymous monk several hundred years ago. This inner stillness can only be achieved through some type of meditative practice (see Johnson’s quote at top of this article), which in the case of “Christian” mystics is contemplative prayer. ![]() When Johnson talks about stilling the mind in order to experience God’s presence and hear His voice, she is referring to something that is universal with mystics-putting the mind into a neutral, altered state where one is not aware of the distractions around him. (Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, 2nd ed., p. If you’re a person who has relied on yourself a great deal to know what’s going on, this unknowing will be unnerving. “In the beginning, it is usual to feel nothing but a cloud of unknowing. Johnson’s explanation of the initial stages of contemplative prayer leaves no doubt that “stilling” your thoughts means only one thing she explains: This puts you in a better state to be aware of God’s presence, and it makes you better able to hear God’s voice, correcting, guiding, and directing you.” “Contemplative prayer, in its simplest form, is a prayer in which you still your thoughts and emotions and focus on God Himself. She leaves no doubt about what this type of prayer entails: Spiritual director Jan Johnson, in her book When the Soul Listens: Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer, is a perfect example of an evangelical Christian who endorses and promotes this practice. We first heard about Jan Johnson in Ray Yungen’s book A Time of Departing where Yungen explains: In that booklet, and this is what we want to focus on in this article, Lanagan discusses a woman named Jan Johnson. Because Priscilla Shirer embraces and has gleaned spiritually from Johnson, we need to take a closer look at what Johnson believes. In John Lanagan’s booklet, Beth Moore & Priscilla Shirer – Their History of Contemplative Prayer,Lanagan shows how both Moore and Shirer have been advocates of contemplative spirituality for quite some time. Because Priscilla Shirer is a contemplative proponent, we concur with our caller’s concerns. Our caller wanted to get some information she can show her pastor as to why her church should not be doing a Priscilla Shirer study. This week, our office received a call from a woman who was concerned that her church is going to be doing a study using material by Priscilla Shirer.
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