Churches Adopting New Age Prayer Styles

It seems incredible to believe that the church world would leave the well-worn paths of Scriptural truth to follow the pagans. It’s happening on an ever-increasing scale. Ministries Today magazine, published by Charisma and edited by Jamie Buckingham, printed an article in their July/August 1991 edition entitled, “Cardinal Points Prayer Day.”

First, please remember the event called the Harmonic Convergence. This was a New Age happening in which thousands — they say millions — gathered at sacred points to pray and meditate. They labeled it “mass consciousness” or “critical mass” and spoke of the energy created when people act in harmony and create conscious power to change the world. It isnÂ’t hard to see that this is a pagan concept. When this concept of consciousness is then connected to energy points of the earth, you have a picture of raw New Age or occultic idealism. The only thing released is the powers of hell to deceive and destroy humankind.

One only has to scan the worldwide destruction of the last several years to see that “harmonic convergence” opened the floodgate of hell to evil spirits of torment and destruction. One man, said to be an expert in the scientific analysis of weather patterns, reported this news. “The primary triggering forces of volcanoes have shifted since 1986 — shifted to the Northern Hemisphere. This means that four-fifths of the world’s population — including North America and Europe — are now in the path of a terrible, disruptive and fundamental change of weather that will have a colossal impact on all our lives.” The weather and destruction are unquestionably on a rampage across the world. The “Harmonic Convergence” of the New Agers had an exact opposite effect than they had promised. That’s because the devil destroys, not creates. He lies to all people and then unleashes hell on their head if they follow him.

Why then would the Christian world follow such hopeless endeavors? There is only one answer: they now believe that the wisdom of man, especially if he claims to be a prophet, is superior to the Holy Bible. God says for us to seek Him in secret in our prayer closets and to wait before Him in fasting and prayer. He will move in sovereignty to answer our request. The Psalmist said, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Prayer is the most intimate action of the disciple of Jesus Christ. The worst thing you can do to prayer is to make it into a form and even worse is to suggest some kind of physical or strategic location as having significance. We don’t need the strategy of the New Agers in the church.

Listen to the writer and the one who proposed the outlandish idea. The writer is Loren Cunningham, founder and director of “Youth With A Mission.” He first told of visiting Nord Cape and quoting a Scripture while standing above the water of the Norwegian Sea. He used a promise of Israel, which has no reference to the church (Isaiah 43:5-7). This is called “Replacement Theology” — replacing Israel and her future role with the church taking dominion over the world.

He then stated, “What was this all about? It was a prelude to a special event we’re calling ‘Cardinal Points, Prayer Day.’ On September 21, 1991, hundreds of Christians gathered, not only at Nord Cape, but also at the northernmost, southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost parts of each of the six inhabited continents. Known as ‘cardinal points,’ each of the world’s 24 extremities was the site of intercessory prayer on that day. In some cases, prayer meetings were held at the cardinal points of individual nations.” (Ministries Today, July/August 1991, p. 24.)

Mr. Cunningham continued, “I believe spiritual authority for the completion of our unfinished task will be released as together, simultaneously allover the world, we say to the demonic principalities of the north, the south, the east and the west: ‘Give up! Don’t hold back the sons and daughters God wants!’” (Ibid, page 24.)

It seems clearly evident that this thinking is the result of “Dominion Theology” influence. We are not in the business of taking anything from Satan, but the souls and lives of men. We are not here to control geography, but to build His invisible church in human hearts. This world is a sinking Titanic and ripe for judgment. Peter stated plainly, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men…But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (II Peter 3:7, 10-11)?

This writer, Loren Cunningham, expressed the opposite. He said, “I believe God has told us quite literally to take possession of the land for Him.” (Ministries Today, July/August 1991, p. 24.) The people of God are salt and light and should always be the leaven in their community. Over and over Jesus steered His disciples toward spiritual activity and away from the idea of a literal kingdom until He returns to establish the same. After the institution of the Lord’s Supper, He stated, “For I say unto you, I will not anymore eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:16). The kingdom of God is now a spiritual entity (within), but will be literal when the Son of Man comes to reign on the throne of David.

The Pharisees of Christ’s day had the same problem our present Pharisees — religious superstars — appear to have. Listen to Luke describe a conversation between them and Christ. “And when He was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation…For as the lightening, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of Man be in His day” (St. Luke 17:20, 24). Christ will establish a literal kingdom and take dominion of the cleansed and purified earth. For men to even speak of doing that before the judgment of this earth is spiritual arrogance, plus clear ignorance of Holy Scripture. A religious controlled government in our debauched world would be worse than a secular one. The true Believer and true church should always labor to influence government but not to structurally control it. The great religious movements of our day are right now the worst enemy there is to the true kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Prayer is communion between the soul of a disciple and His Lord Jesus Christ. To reduce it to a political statement, strategy for spectacular showmanship evangelism, promotion of a religious exercise or any ecclesiastical purpose is to make it a human endeavor of wasted energy. At best it may raise some dollars for its promoters. What we need is broken hearts and a willingness to forsake sin and the world for intimacy with Jesus Christ. It’s time to hide before God in secret and wait for His promise to reward us openly. We won’t need anything for promotions when, “He comes down like rain on the mown grass” (Psalm 72:6b).

Isaiah received this message by the Holy Spirit that we desperately need to consider. Please note how he first dealt with their religious empire and cathedral building: that he abhorred that kind of showmanship and then notice the kind of individuals that would get His attention when they prayed. “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).

God the Father doesn’t need our slick schemes. When He sovereignty moves in answer to an obedient and contrite heart, He will bypass all our elaborate religious games. Note that verse two ends with these words, “and trembleth at my word.” Where are those who tremble at the Word of God? Our new breed has their own prophecies so they have placed doctrine on a level beneath their own ideas. Such people will never see the glory of God.

Our present day church doesnÂ’t kill oxen and other sacrifices, but the abominations in the houses that used to be GodÂ’s are just as repulsive. Note the continuing revelation given to Isaiah. “He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word” (Isaiah 66:3-5a). God said, “I also will choose their delusions.” That is happening throughout the church at the present.

The constant theme of the statement I am hearing is very simple, “Why isn’t the church affecting our world?” Simply, we have forsaken His ways for our own and He will not anoint strange fire offered on strange altars. His way is straight and when we return to His Holy Book, we can pray as the prophet, “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence” (Isaiah 64:1). And he will do it!