For many of us, prayer is something we know we should do, yet it's the one means of connecting with God most intimidating to us. In this book, Michael C. Voigts presents the ultimate expression of prayer not as something we do, but as part of our very nature. Prayer is more than merely praying. Communication with God involves our entire lives. This book follows a four-stage process which begins with love for God and culminates in life in God. Grounded in Scripture and the witness of those in historic Christianity, this ecumenical approach to prayer fuses theology and experience with conversational, accessible language and ideas.
Michael C. Voigts is an Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation at Asbury Theological Seminary and a Lay Cistercian of Gethsemani Abbey. He is author of Letters of Ascent: Spiritual Direction in the Letters of Bernard of Clairvaux (2013).
“In The Fourth Degree of Prayer, Michael Voigts reappropriates the deep spiritual teaching of Bernard of Clairvaux’s On Loving God, translating it into a guidebook for twenty-first-century Christian pray-ers. In doing so, he shows how the wisdom of the monastics continues to speak today and demonstrates that prayer is meant to be deep, even eternal. This is not just a how-to manual but a deep theological reflection on the nature of prayer itself.”
—Greg Peters, Nashotah House Theological Seminary
“In this sweet, highly accessible text, we find a great invitation to ground all of life in daily rhythms of relational prayer with God. . . . Through illuminating presentation of ancient teaching and practice and rich illustrations of the degrees of prayer, Michael Voigts regains our tradition and clears the waters by helping us know how to love God and intercede for others. Here is a text for all novices seeking the way home.”
—Stephen L. Martyn, Asbury Theological Seminary
“Michael Voigts helps us understand that prayer is more about being than about doing. . . . This is a feast that needs to be slowly savored. It is wise, deep, and theologically sound. Even those who have a profound spiritual life will find much in Voigts’s book that will lead to deeper introspection, awareness of God’s presence, and prayerful concern for others. I will be returning to this book, because its rich contents encourage more than just an initial read.”
—Dennis Okholm, author of Monk Habits for Everyday People
Related Titles
