The Practice of Prayer

By (author) Margaret Guenther

Publication date:

25 March 1998

Length of book:

226 pages

Publisher

Cowley Publications

ISBN-13: 9781561011520

In this down-to-earth book on the essentials of prayer, Margaret Guenther answers many of the common questions of the spiritual life, such as How do we learn to listen to God in our prayer? and, How do we develop a life of prayer in the midst of busy, active lives? She includes practical descriptions of a number of ways Christians have prayed through the centuries, from using the Jesus Prayer or rosary to praying with the stories of scripture and prayer book liturgies. Guenther also discusses basic matters of Christian practice, such as making a confession, intercession, going on retreat, simplifying our lives, using a journal to pray, finding a spiritual director, and praying through times of desolation when God does not seem to be listening.

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Spirituality: What's in a Name?
Chapter 2 Prayer as Conversation: Is Anyone Listening?
Chapter 3 Varieties of Prayer: Does What I Learned in Sunday School Still Count?
Chapter 4 Prayer Through the Centuries: From the Jesus Prayer to Lectio Divina
Chapter 5 Practices of Prayer: Retreats, Journaling, Sacramental Confession, and Spiritual Direction
Chapter 6 Finding God in the Ordinary: Your Kitchen Will Teach You Everything
Chapter 7 Prayer and Parenting: How Do I Pray When the Baby is Keeping Me Up?
Chapter 8 Learning Simplicity: 'Tis the Gift to Be Simple, 'Tis the Gift to Be Free
Chapter 9 Praying Through Desolation: Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Chapter 10 Praying in Community: Who are My Mother and My Brothers?

Margaret Guenther is a lot of things—a professor of theology, an author, a retreat leader and an Episcopal priest. But in her latest book, The Practice of Prayer, it is evident that first and foremost she is just like the rest of us, human—allible, vulnerable and all the other things that go along with the human condition. The Practice of Prayer is refreshingly down-to-earth. In this book Guenther talks about prayer and paths to hearing God in a way that makes readers feel they are sitting by a fire having one of those deep and meaningful talks with their best friend. It's the kind of talk you later recall as having been one where a lot of the world's perplexing problems were solved.