What Is Centring Prayer?
- Nicho Fournie
- Jun 19, 2025
- 5 min read
Discover the Method, Meaning, and Benefits of This Christian Meditation Practice
Don't have much time? Head to the summary section.
Centring Prayer is a form of silent Christian meditation rooted in the ancient contemplative tradition. It was developed in the 1970s by Trappist monk Thomas Keating and fellow monks William Meninger and Basil Pennington as a way to make the riches of contemplation accessible to people living in the modern world. While its lineage draws from early Christian mystics like John Cassian and The Cloud of Unknowing, its practice is startlingly simple: sit in silence, intend to consent to God’s presence, and gently let go of thoughts as they arise.
Unlike discursive prayer (praying with words) or guided meditation, Centring Prayer is not about what we do, think, or say; it is about being available to the presence of God within. It is a practice of radical receptivity, rooted in surrender.
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The Centring Prayer Practice
Centring Prayer is deceptively simple, yet profoundly transformative. It is typically done for 20 minutes, twice a day. The basic method includes four guidelines:
Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within. This word is not a mantra but a reminder: a gentle anchor to your intention. Words like “peace,” “Abba,” “Amen,” or “Yeshua” are common, but you may ask the Spirit to guide you in choosing one that speaks to you personally.
Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. Allow yourself to settle. Then silently introduce your sacred word, allowing it to rest lightly in your awareness.
When you notice you are engaged with a thought, gently return to the sacred word. A “thought” in this practice is any perception, memory, feeling, sound, or plan. This is a practice of letting go, like opening your hand to let go of a stick. The return of the divine is the beauty of the practice, not your "success" in suppressing thoughts.
At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence for a few minutes. If done in a group, this time may be closed with a slow recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.
The Intention Behind the Practice
The core of Centring Prayer is intention. It is not a technique to achieve inner peace or reduce stress, though those may occur, but a way of consenting to the presence of God acting in the depths of your being. This intention connects the practice to the theological heart of Christianity: kenosis, or self-emptying love, as exemplified in Christ.
As Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault describes, every act of letting go is a turning toward God. If in one session you have 10,000 thoughts, you have 10,000 opportunities to return. The sacred word is a symbol of this inner posture of release, not something to fixate on.
Healing Through Letting Go
As the mind quiets, unconscious material may surface. This is part of what Thomas Keating called the “Divine Therapy.” Old emotional wounds, repressed memories, or early psychological imprints may emerge to be healed in the presence of divine love.
This process is not always comfortable. It can feel like inner excavation. Keating compared it to an archaeological dig or a spiral staircase: each level of deepening reveals new material for healing, accompanied by moments of spiritual dryness or grief. With time, this clearing creates more space for divine life to flow through us.
Centring Prayer bridges deep theological tradition and contemporary psychological insight. The practice echoes Jesus’ invitation to union in John 17: “that they may be one as we are one.” It draws from monastic tradition, especially the movement from vocal prayer and scripture (Lectio Divina) toward “resting in God.”
At the same time, the practice resonates with the language of modern psychology. It invites us to move beyond the “false self," the protective personality structures built from unmet childhood needs, and toward our “true self,” grounded in God. Keating often emphasized that without understanding the basic dynamics of the human condition, we misinterpret our spiritual struggles. This is why Centring Prayer is not just prayer, it is transformation.
What Makes It Different?
Centring Prayer is often compared to other meditative traditions like mindfulness or Zen, but several features make it distinct:
It is relational. Centring Prayer is grounded in the belief that God dwells within us and desires union. It is about consenting to divine presence, not observing presence.
It is receptive. Many meditation techniques are concentrative, seeking to control the mind. Centring Prayer is about letting go of thoughts, feelings, and even spiritual experiences.
It is anchored in Christian theology. Though accessible to people from any tradition, the practice flows from the Christian contemplative lineage and is deeply Trinitarian in orientation.
The effects of Centring Prayer are rarely felt during the prayer itself. The fruits appear in daily life: a softened heart, a growing capacity to love, and a quiet resilience in the face of life’s storms. As the unconscious unloads and the false self is gently dismantled, we become freer, less reactive, more compassionate, and more rooted in God’s love.
To borrow from Thomas Keating again: “The principal effects of Centering Prayer are experienced in daily life, not during the prayer period. That’s the sign it’s working.”
Final Thoughts
Centring Prayer is not a quick fix. It is a lifelong unfolding of inner silence, trust, and transformation. The practice is simple, but its effects are profound. It requires only this: a willingness to show up, to sit in the presence of God, and to let go, again and again.
As Bourgeault reminds us, “It is not the state you achieve that matters, but the moment of letting go.”
To learn more, we recommend Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault’s video on Centring Prayer available here and Thomas Keating’s foundational series, “The Spiritual Journey”.
For local practice, join us at the Presence Collective, Calgary's Centring Prayer Circle, every Wednesday night in Calgary.
Summary
Centring Prayer is a silent Christian meditation rooted in the contemplative tradition, developed by Thomas Keating.
The practice involves choosing a sacred word, sitting in stillness, and gently letting go of thoughts to consent to God’s presence.
It fosters deep healing by allowing repressed emotions and unconscious material to surface and be released through divine grace.
Unlike mindfulness or mantra-based meditation, Centring Prayer is relational and receptive, grounded in surrender, not control.
Its impact is felt in daily life, leading to greater inner peace, reduced reactivity, and a growing sense of union with God.
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