28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"an inquiry into the prospect of whether there is a God", June 19, 2005
This review is from: Hungry for God: Practical Help in Personal Prayer (Paperback)
real, simple, and simply honest... a companion going through the initial steps and questionings and life experiences of trying to figure out the only question we all need to answer for ourselves...
in the first 20 pages, this man spoke for me - wanting to believe it [IF It's True] - but so suspicious, so skeptical... i even wonder if i am afraid...
then realize that i am afraid, both ways: afraid if it's true, anad afraid If It's Not...
this book helped my seeking, again, at age 52 to really understand and, mostly, to really experience and feel God, to feel what is called a personal relationship with God.
Ralph Martin is so simply honest in describing his thoughts, feelings, the steps this took for him... i felt not alone anymore in my desire to sort this out for myself... but also didn't feel he was evangelizing his experience in any way.
this book Only Helped me to get closer to what I am really thinking and feeling - the sense i make of my own life and experience...
i found it uniquely comforting in that maybe this process is universal - maybe it all comes down to these essential stirrings of the heart and acute moments of fear and even panic -
we all WANT to believe in God and a Divine Providence... but do we dare hope? and if we experience something credible and very real, then ARE we going to be willing to do what it asks of us...
what happens when even a good life, happiness and success aren't enough to quiet that nagging "What's It All About?" and "Is That All There Is?"... as we all march toward that Last Night, our death...
invaluable, for $10 this book is worth $1000 of therapy, i think... it's very moving and doesn't try to sell anyone on anything...
i found this book to be comforting and enlightening as well as very gentle in getting me to challenge my own smokescreens and posturings - that i'd built up over 30 years.
Hungry for God is Everyman's search, how we talk to ourselves... and it really helped me move through, not just get stuck in the early is there a God, is there a God for ME...
nothing preachy about it - just someone to go through it with.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Straight from the Heart, September 3, 2007
Ralph Martin, who grew up in Catholic family, went through a period in high school and college in which he doubted the truth of Christianity. In the late `60s, he returned to the Church and embarked on a vocation promoting the Catholic renewal movement. While studying for a master's degree in theology, he accepted his bishop's invitation to establish the first national office of the cursillo movement. He later spent four years in Belgium working with Cardinal Suenens on the papal mandate to ensure a solid foundation for Catholic charismatic renewal.
The first part of Hungry for God addresses the resistance and surrender at the heart of Christian life. "I have known and do know both," Martin writes. "Perhaps some of my own experiences can help demonstrate what goes on in a person's heart as Jesus attempts to reveal himself." He explores such common obstacles as intellectualized faith and problems with sin and guilt that block us from the freedom and joy found in a deeper relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit. The second part of Hungry for God deals with prayer. The author lays the groundwork through quotations from Scripture and spiritual writers including Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. He then offers specific guidelines for enriching our prayer lives.
Those who seek a closer relationship with the Trinity, whether or not they choose the path of charismatic renewal, will find Martin's story helpful.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Prayer Primer, January 3, 2010
There's one thing that's absolutely clear after reading this book: Ralph Martin loves God. If one didn't know he is Catholic, one would think he is Protestant the way he seems on fire with love of God. (I agree with Martin on this point that we Catholics have a lot to learn from our Protestant friends on this issue). He is especially passionate about the Charismatic Renewal and the effect it has had his love for God.
Martin gives a lot practical advice on prayer, i.e. set a time to pray daily, set a specific place to pray, ways to clear your head of the clutter before praying. He also discusses the different types of prayer. There isn't much in the way of techniques, but there is some very good information for one just starting to incorporate prayer into his/her daily life.
It's not a must-read, but it's a good read - I think we can all learning something from Martin's personal story and struggles. Recommended for someone just starting to pray daily.
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