History of Meditation In Evangelical Christianity

An Overview of The History of Meditation In Evangelical Christianity / Protestant Christianity

Meditation is central to spirituality and mysticism, providing a means for connecting and communing with God. We can learn so much from the traditions and teachings of those who have gone before us.

Jesus Christ Himself Exemplified Contemplative Prayer

This history of Christian meditation was influenced by Jesus’ prayer life and the God-Man Himself. Much of Jesus’ time on Earth was spent speaking to His Father in public and in private.

He exemplified the practice of solitary prayer and reflection by seeking out places to pray and meditate. We can see this demonstrated throughout scripture:

• The 40 days He spent in the wilderness, as told in Matthew 4:1-11
• The nights Jesus spent in prayer on mountainsides, as told in Luke 6:12
• His time spent in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, as told in Mark 14:32-42

Jesus also taught the principles of meditative prayer, sharing the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 as a model. This practice encourages believers to reflect deeply on who God is, His holiness, His provisions for His people, and the guidance the Holy Spirit offers.

Additional depictions of solitary prayer in Jesus’ life include Mark 1:35, which states:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

ESV

Luke 5:16 shares a similar theme, sharing this about Jesus:

But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

ESV

This idea is also evident in the parables Jesus told, like in Luke 18:1, which states:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

ESV

These passages reveal the pattern of dedicated prayer and solo contemplation intrinsic to Jesus’ human experience.

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Instructions & Reflections From The Apostle Paul

Paul, an Apostle of Jesus, is one of the great teachers and counselors of the Bible who lived just after Jesus’ death in the first century. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he encouraged believers to

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a, ESV

Praying without ceasing implies that prayer cannot only be a verbal list of requests but is something much deeper: a spiritual practice that amplifies the presence of God directly from the Word of God.

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul teaches about four different kinds of prayer in verse 1, listing “supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings.” In verse 2, he follows this instruction with the intended outcome: “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (ESV) This is further evidence of the Christian tradition of centering prayers or alternative forms of meditation.

Other epistles from Paul extol the values of the mental and spiritual focus of Christian meditation:

Early Church Fathers & Influences

Early Christian Practices dating back to the 1st–5th centuries can be found in the apostolic teachings and Paul’s letters, which influenced the early church’s focus on prayer and meditation. Early Christians often meditated on Scripture and the Spirit of God to deepen their understanding of Christ’s teachings and to improve daily life.

Origen The Catechist

Origen was an official teacher or catechist of the early Alexandrian Church who died in 254 AD, only 2.5 centuries after Jesus’ death.[1] He wrote a treatise on prayer, Origen On Prayer, which is one of the earliest resources that posits prayer as both a petition (asking for things) and a contemplation (dwelling and reflection).

Using prayers from the Old Testament and New Testament, he taught that prayer as a contemplative practice is a standard application. This treatise was translated into English in the 1940s and today is considered public domain. You can find Origen’s work in its entirety online in both written and audio formats.

The Desert Fathers

Evagrius Ponticus

Evagrius was a noble courtier who died in 399 AD and is considered one of the Desert Fathers and Mothers who taught meditation and wordless, silent prayer in the pursuit of a calm state called apatheia. The apatheia practice of meditation involves confronting harmful thinking to experience divine simplicity and cultivate a stronger, deeper connection with God.[2]

Christian Mystics apply this practice of meditation to theology and to experience divine union. Other meditation practices that are associated with their teachings are focused on Biblical meditation, contemplation, and repeated short prayers, such as “Lord, have mercy.” These methods align thoughts with divine truth as a form of centering prayer.

John Cassian

Another notable Desert Father, John Cassian, appeared in the 5th century, and many of his teachings were heavily influenced by Evagrius Ponticus. He wrote a series of Conferences that share the meditations and teachings of the monastic leaders in the desert communities. Conference 10 specifically references continual prayer, spiritual contemplation, and meditation to “progress towards the continual recollection of God.”[3] He emphasized “pure prayer,” a contemplative focus on God alone, underscoring Paul’s encouragement to “set your mind on things above.”

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Dionysius was a Greek author and theologian of the late 5th and early 6th century. He wrote what is known as the Corpus Areopagiticum or Corpus Dionysiacum. Dionysius is regarded as the father of blending Theurgy, which means God-work, and Theology, which means God-Word. The idea of Theurgy promotes active participation in sacred things, such as contemplative actions and methods to connect one with divine power.[4]

The pairing of these two concepts recognizes nonintellectual and intangible parts of God’s character. His practice of meditation focused on the attributes of God, the names of God, and a focus on letting go of what we think we know about God to ascend into the endless depths of God’s Being and Nature.