A Concluding Word
Notes
A Beginning Word
: As quoted in Richard J. Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), p. 143.
Part One: Laying the Foundation
: Ken Medema, “Teach Me to Stop,” Teach Me to Stop (and Listen) (Waco, Tex.: Word Music, 1978).
Chapter 1: God Speaking, Teaching and Acting
: Elizabeth O’Connor, Search for Silence (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1972), p. 118.
: See also Deut 18:15-18; Mt 17:5; Jn 1:21; 4:19-25; 6:14; 7:37-40; Heb 1:1-13; 3:7-8; 12:25.
: Many of the passages that use the words haga (hgFhf) or siach (xay#&i) carry with them this idea of obedience to the will and ways of God. See Ps 1:2; 49:3; 119:15; 119:48; 119:97; 119:99 and others.
: Ken A. Bryson, “Silence and Hebrew Meditation” www.biblicaltheology.com/ Research/BrysonKA01.pdf.
: For an imaginative and poetic rendering of the story, see Arthur O. Roberts, Move Over Elijah (Newberg, Ore.: Barclay, 1967).
: John Greenleaf Whittier, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind,” Hymns for the Family of God (Nashville: Paragon House, 1976), p. 422.
: Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 63.
: Madame Jeanne Guyon, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ (Goleta, Calif.: Christian Books, 1975), p. 3.
: Theophan the Recluse, The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, ed. Timothy Ware (London: Faber & Faber, 1966), p. 110.
: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Way to Freedom (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), p. 57.
: Guyon, Experiencing the Depths, p. 32.
Chapter 2: A Familiar Friendship with Jesus
: Catherine de Haeck Doherty, Poustinia: Christian Spirituality of the East for Western Man (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria, 1983), p. 21.
: Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Garden City, N.Y.: Image, 1955), p. 85.
: Note also Paul’s rather blunt statement to the Christian fellowship at Corinth: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16).
: The Prayers of Teresa of Avila, ed. Thomas Alvarez (Hyde Park, N.Y.: New City, 1995), p. 12. I have changed the last phrase of this quote slightly for ease of understanding. The text (which, of course, we are getting via translation) reads, “Don’t you think it would be good . . . if the inn where You have so continually to dwell were not to get so dirty.”
: John Flavel, On Keeping the Heart, Christian Classics Ethereal Library www.ccel.org/ ccel/flavel/ keeping.ii.i.html.
: Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1969), p. 100.
Chapter 3: Descending with the Mind into the Heart
: Romano Guardini, Prayer in Practice, trans. Prince Leopold (Garden City, N.Y.: Image, 1963), p. 102.
: Theophan the Recluse, The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, ed. Timothy Ware (London: Faber & Faber, 1966), p. 110.
: Notable exceptions to this would be the iconoclastic movement of the eighth century, the Quakers of the seventeenth century, the Puritans of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and certain fundamentalist groups in our own day.
: Alexander Whyte, Lord, Teach Us to Pray (New York: Harper & Brothers, n.d.), p. 249.
: Teresa of Avila, The Complete Works of Saint Teresa of Jesus, trans. E. Allison Peers (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1949), 1:9.4; see also 4.10.
: Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, trans. John K. Ryan (Garden City, N.Y.: Image, 1955) p. 84.
: A. W. Tozer, “The Value of the Sanctified Imagination” http://loves55houme.com/ Books/ BAM22.htm.
: As quoted in Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998) p. 324. For a brief description of the seven ecumenical councils, see pp. 277-81.
: I write this to you as someone who does not personally use icons. This is not out of theological conviction—that issue was settled at the seventh ecumenical council. It is simply a matter of personal practice—icons have never seemed to speak to my condition. If you want to learn more, I recommend Henri J. M. Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria, 2007).
: Francis de Sales, Introduction, p. 83.
: Whyte, Lord, Teach Us, p. 251.
Entering the Experience: Worship at Quaker Meadow
: Barclay’s Apology in Modern English, ed. Dean Freiday (Manasquan, N.J.: Sowers, 1980), p. 254.
: Thomas Kelly, The Eternal Promise (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), pp. 82-83.
: George Fox as quoted in Kelly, Eternal Promise, p. 79.
: William Penn, “Preface to the Journal of George Fox,” A Journal (1831), posted on The Missing Cross to Purity www.hallvworthington.com/ wjournal/ journalintro2.html.
: Robert Barclay, Barclay’s Apology, p. 248.
: Karl Rahner, On Prayer (New York: Paulist, 1965), p. 7.
Part Two: Stepping into Meditative Prayer
: Isaac of Stella as quoted in The Lord of the Journey: A Reader in Christian Spirituality, ed. Roger Pooley and Philip Seddon (London: Collins Liturgical, 1986), p. 36.
Chapter 4: Being Present Where We Are
: Thomas Merton, Spiritual Direction and Meditation (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1960), p. 69.
: Frederick W. Faber as quoted in A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1961), p. 12.
: Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism (New York: Meridian, 1955), p. 314.
: Evelyn Underhill, Practical Mysticism (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1943), p. 52.
: Romano Guardini, Prayer in Practice, trans. Prince Leopold (New York: Doubleday, 1963), pp. 20-21.
: Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence, various editions. Sometimes this book is also titled The Sacrament of the Present Moment.
: Mother Teresa, Major Addresses Delivered at the Conference on Faith and Learning (North Newton, Kans.: Bethel College, 1980), pp. 85-86.
: Søren Kierkegaard, Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing, trans. Douglas V. Steere (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1938), p. 51.
: N. Gordon Cosby, in Elizabeth O’Connor, Search for Silence (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1972), p. 12.
Chapter 5: Beholding the Lord
: Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1986), p. 28.
: Written in 1685, this book originally had the rather extended title Short and Very Easy Method of Prayer; Which All Can Practice with the Greatest Facility, and Arrive in a Short Time, by Its Means, at a High Degree of Perfection. For writing this book Guyon was put in prison for a little over seven years.
: Jeanne Guyon, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ (Goleta, Calif.: Christian, 1981), p. 10.
: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (London: J. Miller, 1864), posted on A Celebration of Women Writers, University of Pennsylvania digital .library.upenn.edu/ women/barrett/ aurora/aurora.html.
: Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez (New York: Paulist, 1979), p. 73 and many other places.
: Catherine de Haeck Doherty, Poustinia: Christian Spirituality of the East for Western Man (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria, 1983), p. 216.
Chapter 6: An Inward Attentiveness
: François Fénelon as quoted in Richard J. Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), p. 163.
: It is not possible in this small book to go into this matter in detail. For that I would suggest Dallas Willard, Hearing God (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999). I consider Hearing God (formerly published under the title In Search of Guidance) to be among the finest books ever written on divine guidance and certainly the best in recent years. The thoughts in this section draw heavily upon this book.
: Edward John Carnell, Christian Commitment: An Apologetic (New York: Macmillan, 1957), p. 273 and numerous other places.
: Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 174.
: E. Stanley Jones, A Song of Ascents (Nashville: Abingdon, 1979), p. 190.
: Willard, Hearing God, p. 177.
: The official history from the George Washington Carver Monument says that Carver told this story many times in numerous versions. One online source is “George Washington Carver,” Jesus Christ Saves Ministries www.mi chaelnewdow.com/ GeorgeWashingtonCarver.htm.
: Laubach wrote nearly one hundred books, fifteen of which are on the topic of prayer. Some of the best known are Letters by a Modern Mystic, Learning the Vocabulary of God, You Are My Friends, Game with Minutes, Prayer: The MightiestForce in the World and Channels of Spiritual Power.
: Frank C. Laubach, Letters by a Modern Mystic (Colorado Springs: Purposeful Design, 2007), p. 30.
: Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Old Tappan, N.J.: Revell, 1985), p. 9.
Entering the Experience: Trek to Cuthbert’s Cave
: Jean-Nicholas Grou, How to Pray, trans. Joseph Dalby (Cambridge, U.K.: James Clarke, 1982), p. 23.
: The Northumbria Community has compiled a prayer book, Celtic Daily Prayer, which forms the basis of their community life. I wrote an introduction to the American edition (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002), which contains an early version of the story of my trek to Cuthbert’s cave.
: Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings, trans. Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden (New York: Ballantine, 1993), p. 83.
Part Three: Dealing with Everyday Difficulties
Hymns for the Family of God (Nashville: Paragon House, 1976), p. 77.
Chapter 7: Wandering Minds
: Evelyn Underhill, Practical Mysticism (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1915), pp. 37-38.
: Sven Birkerts, The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994), p. 193.
: See Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (New York: W. W. Norton, 2010). If you are interested, you might also want to look at Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergenceof a New Science of Mind; Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself; and David J. Buller, Adapting Minds.
: Blaise Pascal, The Pensées, trans. Thomas Krailsheimer (New York: Penguin, 1965), p. 37.
: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Way to Freedom (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), pp. 60-61.
: Robert Frost, “The Road not Taken,” Mountain Interval, various editions.
: John Donne, Meditation 17, various editions.
: John Donne, Holy Sonnet 14, various editions.
: John Donne, 1573-1631; George Herbert, 1593-1633.
: George Herbert, The Temple, various editions.
: Robert Siegel, A Pentecost of Finches (Brewster, Mass.: Paraclete, 2006), p. 68. Other poetry books by Robert Siegel include In a Pig’s Eye and TheWaters Under the Earth.
: In Celebration of Discipline I describe another meditation experience with a similar purpose called simply “palms down, palms up” (p. 30). You, of course, are welcome to create your own meditation experience.
: François Fénelon, Christian Perfection (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1975), pp. 155-56.
Chapter 8: Like A Roaring Lion
: C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan, 1980), p. 3.
: For an elaboration of this line of thinking, see Donald B. Kraybill, The Upside-Down Kingdom (Scottdale, Penn.: Herald, 1978). See also Richard J. Foster, Streams of Living Water (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998) pp. 1-22.
: If you would like to pursue these matters further, I suggest you turn to Agnes Sanford, The Healing Gifts of the Spirit ( New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1966), and John Wimber, PowerHealing (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987).
: Celtic Daily Prayer (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2002), p. 33. This prayer of protection is taken from the Aidan Compline.
Chapter 9: A Potpourri of Questions
: A. B. Simpson, The Life of Prayer (Harrisburg, Penn.: Christian, 1967), p. 9.
: Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, trans. John J. Delaney (New York: Doubleday, 1977), p. 57.
: David Pytches, Does God Speak Today? (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1989).
: Thomas Merton, Spiritual Direction and Meditation (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1960), p. 98.
: Romano Guardini as quoted in Elizabeth O’Connor, Search for Silence (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1972), p. 127.
: Richard Rolle as quoted in Merton, Spiritual Direction, p. 75.
: William Penn, No Cross, No Crown, ed. Ronald Selleck (Richmond, Ind.: Friends United Meeting, 1981), p. xii.
: N. Gordon Cosby, in Elizabeth O’Connor, Search for Silence (Waco, Tex.: Word, 1972), p. 12.
: Merton, Spiritual Direction, p. ii.
Entering the Experience: Encounter at Jalama Beach
: Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (New York: HarperCollins, 1974), p. 148.
: Jacques Ellul, The Humiliation of the Word, trans. Joyce Main Hanks (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985).
: Richard J. Foster, “The Humiliation of the Word in Our Day,” Westmont 30, no. 3 (2010): 13.
: Agnes Sanford, The Healing Gifts of the Spirit (New York: Lippincott, 1966), p. 25.
: Evelyn Underhill, Practical Mysticism (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1943), pp. 90-91.
A Concluding Word
: Toyohiko Kagawa, Meditations, trans. Jiro Takenaka (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1950), p. 1.
: There is a certain wisdom in the hesitancy. Meditative prayer does not function on its own. It is intimately connected to the entire range of the classical disciplines of the spiritual life. We must be prepared to enter into the “costly grace” of an overall life of discipleship to Jesus. To learn more about the spiritual disciplines and how they function in a fully orbed spiritual life, see Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), and Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1988).
: George Fox, The Journal of George Fox, ed. John L. Nickalls (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952), p. 263.