Flee, Be Silent, Pray: An Anxious Evangelical Finds Peace with God through Contemplative Prayer
By Ed Cyzewski
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
When daily prayer and Bible study leaves a Christian anxious, doubtful, and frustrated, is there any hope for finding peace with God?
Ed Cyzewski grew up in a restrictive Catholic Church, immersed himself in the hard-working world of evangelical Christianity as the path to knowing God, and then graduated uncertain about praying or finding God. The Christian prayer tradition known as contemplation, primarily preserved in monasteries through practices such as centering prayer, was the answer he didn’t want to find. If his Protestant faith was going to survive, he needed to move beyond his past grudges in order to learn Christian meditation and contemplative prayer from Catholic teachers.
Contemplative prayer goes beyond the limits of Bible study and experiences the loving presence of God described in the scriptures. While scripture and spiritual disciplines have their place, Cyzewski learned that the unstoppable love of God forms the foundation of all Christian spirituality, and that daily contemplative prayer helps us rest in God’s loving presence.
Using Henrí Nouwen’s The Way of the Heart to highlight the three movements into contemplation with the words flee, be silent, pray, Cyzewski found what it means to quiet his religious anxiety by resting in the love of God. Anxious evangelicals and Christians on the brink of losing their faith will find an accessible path toward using this simple, proven approach to daily prayer.
Ed Cyzewski
Ed Cyzewski writes at www.edcyzewski.com where his love for prayer, writing, and bad puns come together. He is the author of Pray, Write, Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together, A Path to Publishing, A Christian Survival Guide, and other books. He is a graduate of Biblical Theological Seminary, avid gardener, and devotee to New York style pizza. Find him on twitter: @edcyzewski. Subscribe to his e-newsletter at www.edcyzewski.com for new book releases, discounts, and tips on writing and publishing.
Read more from Ed Cyzewski
Creating Space: The Case for Everyday Creativity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coffeehouse Theology: Bible Study Guide Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaily Wisdom for Men 2017 Devotional Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy We Run from God's Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coffeehouse Theology: Reflecting on God in Everyday Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Good News of Revelation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBecome a Better Faith Blogger Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Christian Survival Guide: A Lifeline to Faith and Growth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Path to Publishing: What I Learned by Publishing a Nonfiction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hazardous Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirst Draft Father: A Write-from-Home Dad Finds the Joy/Anxiety/Exhaustion/Wonder of Parenting Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Flee, Be Silent, Pray
Related ebooks
B.A.D. Talking but Saying Good Stuff! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod for Now: Theology through Evangelical and Charismatic Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWholeness: Changing How We Think About Healing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBorn Again and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Christian And The Struggle With Truth: In Sin, Salvation, and Santification of the Human Soul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOvercoming Apathy: Gospel Hope for Those Who Struggle to Care Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Joy: The Journey Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Dishwasher Theology: Thinking about the Big Questions of Christian Faith Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChrist Above Culture: A Gospel-Centered Vision for Racial Harmony Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Evangelical Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord, I Keep Getting a Busy Signal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe F.A.I.T.H. of Modern-Day Christianity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPraying the Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Test the Spirits Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeretics, Mystics & Misfits Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No More Whacky Worship: God's Revival Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Q & A Guide to Mental Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Does the Bible Really Say That?: Challenging our assumptions in the light of Scripture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorn Out by Obedience: Recovering from Spiritual Fatigue Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/513 Powerful Ways to Pray Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Pray for Healing: Understanding and Releasing the Healing Power Available to Every Christian Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Disability and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prayer Driven Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystic’s Way for Regular People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEveryday Evangelism for Catholics: A Practical Guide to Spreading the Faith in a Contemporary World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMindfulness and Christian Spirituality: Making Space for God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Modern Idolatry: Are you in the True Faith? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Diminishing of the Divine: Why I Stopped Going to Church and Started Being the Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeachable Moments: Theological Reflections from The World’s Most Familiar Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpiritual Mind: Without Having a Spiritual Mind There Can Never Be a True Christian Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Prayer & Prayerbooks For You
Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Common Prayer: Pocket edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Pray: Reflections and Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pocket Prayers: 40 Simple Prayers that Bring Peace and Rest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus Listens: Daily Devotional Prayers of Peace, Joy, and Hope (the New 365-Day Prayer Book) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dear Abba: Morning & Evening Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pray First: The Transformative Power of a Life Built on Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Diary of Private Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anam Cara [Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition]: A Book of Celtic Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of a Praying Parent Book of Prayers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fasting: Opening the Door to a Deeper, More Intimate, More Powerful Relationship With God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Really Pray Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died Twice and the Profound Revelations He Received Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Miracles and Other Reasonable Things: A Story of Unlearning and Relearning God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus' Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Start with Prayer: 250 Prayers for Hope and Strength Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let Nothing Disturb You: 30 Days with Teresa of Avila Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daily Prayers for Orthodox Christians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Pray:What the Bible Tells Us About Genuine, Effective Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Power of a Praying Woman Book of Prayers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Book of Hours Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sermon on the Mount: The Key to Success in Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children Book of Prayers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding God in Anime: A Devotional for Otakus: Finding God in Anime, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When You Don't Know What to Pray: 100 Essential Prayers for Enduring Life's Storms Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Flee, Be Silent, Pray
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An exhortation for evangelicals/conservative Christians to discover the ancient spiritual practices of contemplative prayer delivered by means of the author's personal story.The author explains how he began life as a Catholic, strongly converted to evangelical Christianity, and re-discovered some Catholic meditative and devotional practices during a time of great spiritual distress. Most of the book features discussions of various spiritual practices surrounding contemplative prayer: the divine hours (fixed hour prayer), effective use of the examen, mindfulness centering on God in Christ, daily periods of solitude and the ability to appreciate what silence teaches, and the experience of the dark night of the soul.Beyond such discussions the book is framed as a critique of evangelicalism as currently practiced, highly anxious, works-based and driven, relentlessly pressing forward, too easily reflecting the capitalistic and consumeristic models of the moment. The author speaks of these things in terms of his own personal experience, and goes to some length to assure the reader that he is not automatically condemning all that is in evangelicalism or its impulses, but seeks to be an encouragement for others who may, like him, have found themselves disenchanted and in great spiritual distress and who would benefit from these prayer traditions. In general the book is a valuable resource; unlike a lot of other authors who write on the theme, Cyzewski is willing to provide some pointers for practice and to explain not only what he did in generalities but providing actual practices, references, and resources. I have read similar works and have wanted to explore the practices but felt disappointed by a lack of concrete direction. I would not consider myself an Evangelical but my heritage shares many affinities with evangelicalism, and to some degree I can relate to the author's frustrations if not his exact experiences. Throughout my nearly 20 years in Christ I have felt more than catechized in doctrine but have felt at a loss in terms of developing an effectively coherent prayer life...it is good to see someone else's journey that provides some beneficial pointers, and I am already benefited by having been pointed to the Examen along with the divine hours (which I have been doing, although not as consistently as desired, for almost a decade). I perceived a bit of unease from the author at various points about his practices and conclusions, as if he still did not feel entirely settled and maintained doctrinal combatants in mind, and felt he would have done better at times to have maintained the confidence and boldness in his current stand. It shall be seen as to how well many Evangelicals will take to his criticisms of the movement in general even if they are not wide of the mark. I would also caution against the seemingly uncritical acceptance of the model of those who came before, especially among the "desert fathers." The "desert fathers" arose from their own context, a reactive movement, which may provide some positive fodder for spirituality but also maintained a legacy that was a bit too extreme for its own good. Yes, indeed, Jesus retreated into the wilderness to pray...but He always returned to minister among the people. Having said that, the likelihood of many running to such an extreme is far lower than the presently critical need for many in Christendom to flee for a moment, be silent, and pray. A highly recommended work.