Prayer--10th Anniversary Edition: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard Foster

Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home

Having not paid much attention to developments in the practice of Christianity in America for many years, I am only now discovering important books that some of you have probably known about for a very long time.

Case in point is Richard Foster's classic book on prayer. Even its 10-year anniversary release was over a decade ago.

Foster is part of the Renovare movement, which focuses on Spiritual Formation. This book is one of its many truly wonderful resources.

Weighing in at 473 pages, in it Foster (a Quaker) writes a chapter on each of the many unique types of prayer.

Can you name them? Prior to reading many books on prayer, in addition to this one, I would've thought there might be a half-dozen distinctive types of prayer.

But no. There are 22 styles of prayer, which Foster writes about in this book. Each one comes straight out of the Bible, which he supports with numerous biblical references.

Over the millennia, various Christian traditions have focused more on some types of prayer than others. For example, Catholics have practiced Ignatian and Benedictine prayer, which Protestants, in general, have not--to their great loss.

All types of prayer are good, to bring us closer to God. Here are the 22 types of prayer, about which Richard Foster writes.

1. Simple prayer
2. Prayer of the forsaken 
3. Prayer of complaint (lamentations)
4. Prayer of Examen (Ignatian Prayer)
5. Prayer of tears
6. Prayer of relinquishment
7. Formation prayer: This one is Benedictine Prayer. Here's a snippet of what Foster says about it: 

“Prayer changes things,” people say. It also changes us. The latter goal is the more imperative. The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that, by the power of the Spirit, we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son. This process of transformation is the sole focus of Formation Prayer." 

He goes into some of the Rules of St. Benedict, or the twelve steps, which include humility; The Little Way; The Communion of Solitude; Peering into the Abyss.

      8. Covenant Prayer.  A profound interior heart call to a God-intoxicated life.
      9.The Prayer of Adoration
    10. The Prayer of Rest
    11. Sacramental Prayer, (Liturgical prayer)
    12. Unceasing Prayer
    13. The Prayer of the Heart
    14. Meditative Prayer
    15. Contemplative Prayer
    16. Praying the Ordinary:

"The discovery of God lies in the daily and the ordinary, not in the spectacular and the heroic. If we cannot find God in the routines of home and shop, then we will not find him at all."

    17. Petitionary Prayer
    18. Intercessory Prayer
    19, Healing Prayer
    20. The Prayer of Suffering
    21. Authoritative Prayer
    22. Radical Prayer:

"Radical Prayer refuses to let us stay on the fringes of life’s great issues. It dares to believe that things can be different. Its aim is the total transformation of persons, institutions, and societies. Radical Prayer, you see, is prophetic." 

This is a wonderful resource on types of prayer that each of us can practice, every day. The goal is not, of course, to check off the list and boast about having done them all.

However in trying them all, we will find some draw us closer to God than others. It's those prayers that will become the most useful to us in our daily walk.

Reimagining the Ignatian Examen: Fresh Ways to Pray from Your Day by Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ

Reimagining the Ignatian Examen (Kindle ...$6.34)
Reimagining the Ignatian Examen (Paper ... $6.67)

This is one of my favorite books on the practice of prayer, which brings us into direct, personal communication with God. There are many ways to pray, and some are better suited to some personalities than others.

If you tend to be contemplative, and if you love to journal your prayers, this book is definitely for you. Even if you don't journal, this book could be for you, by going through the exercises mentally only.

If you've never practiced Ignatian prayer, here's how you do it:
1. Ask God to reveal the gifts and graces (large and small) that He's given you today, if done at the end of the day. If done at the beginning, thank God for yesterday's gifts and graces.
2. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and for the Spirit to be the initiator of the prayer time.
3. Repent of difficult moments when you sinned by commission or omission, and sense God's healing and mercy washing over you.
4. With what you learned during this prayer time about yourself and your life, ask God to show you how he wants you to respond, and what He wants you to do tomorrow. Who is God calling you to be? Resolve to be that person.

In addition to this general form of prayer, Mr. Thibodeaux includes 34 daily variations on the Examen as food for thought in our spiritual growth. For example,

Where are you? What do you seek?
the Hole in the Fortress Wall
Places, Things, Activities
Choose Life
Who do You say that I am?
My Greatest Fear

Do you like to write down your prayers when conversing with God? If so, don't hesitate to buy this book. You won't be disappointed.