When to Let the Sacred Word Fall Away (and When to Keep On Praying It)

A reader of this blog wrote to ask me this question:

How does Centering Prayer differ from Christian Meditation as taught by John Main?
In Centering Prayer you allow the prayer word to “fall away” on it’s own.
And though, in Christian Meditation, you are meant to keep repeating the Prayer Word (Maranatha) throughout the period of prayer, it too falls away …