Customer Reviews

Living Prayer

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This little book rewards and challenges the reader on every page. Yes, it is a book on prayer, and undertaking the subject deeply brings the reader face to face with topics of genuine friendship, forgiveness, and how to approach thinking about God. There is grist enough for a lifetime at the prayer-mill. Some chapter topics include:

* The Lord's Prayer
* Meditation and worship
* The Jesus Prayer
* Unanswered prayer and petition
* Silence

To name topics seems almost a foolish exercise, because in each of the chapters mentioned and in the rest of this book there is such scope and depth. For Metropolitan Anthony, it was impossible to separate the language of prayer from our need for a personal relationship with the living God. If you sense that this pre-supposition may be true, then this is a fine book to guide your journey.

Metropolitan Antony Bloom wrote one of the best, easy to read, start from the basics to advance levels, book about prayer. Learn the meanings behind, different methods & levels, & what is beyond prayer. Written from an Eastern Orthodox Christian Monastic Mystical perspective that any person can benefit. Sections include the Lord's prayer, Jesus prayer, & silent prayer. If your looking for a spiritual father, or a book on historical practical prayer, this is it.

Ever read a book in an afternoon, and then wished you hadn't?

I'm talking about the kind of book that you should treasure instead, maybe hoard it for yourself, so you can appreciate it over a longer period of time.

This is a book like that. You'll be tempted to read it quickly (it's 125 pages) but it is full of great and helpful stuff, and what's more, it's the kind of book that's easily read, gently told, and immensely helpful. His discussions of unanswered prayers, and of the role of petitioning in praying were especially helpful. (If you're someone like me who imagined that asking God for something was somehow easier, read his discussion on pages 82 and 83 about how prayers of petition are tests of the reality of our faith).

Jesus taught us to pray, and we never stop learning. No matter where you are along the path, this book will offer help and encouragement in your praying and ultimately in your love for God.

Metropolitan Anthony (Anthony bloom) so gracefully presents some wonderful and very practical and useful advice concerning prayer. He takes the reader by the hand and journeys through the beginnings (an in some ways prayer is always about "the beginnings") and on through some of the pitfalls and blessings one may expect on the road of prayer. He shows us that prayer is indeed a lifelong endeavor which yields results that are sometimes hard to quantify, but nonetheless are tangible. I highly recommend this book along with Courage to Pray, also by Anthony Bloom. As a last comment, I would recommend anything Bloom wrote as something worthwhile, though his books are sometimes difficult to come by -- but the search is worth the fruits of the labor.

An Orthodox friend recommended this book on prayer. Even though I am not Orthodox, I found the thoughts contained in this book useful to anyone who wants to have a better prayer life.

Anthony Bloom is one of my spiritual heros. In fact I drew from his work in writing "Paths to Pray: Finding Your Own Way to the Presence of God" (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003). Because of his ground-breaking work I was able to extend prayer to set forth over 40 ways to pray from over 2000 years of Christian history including prayer shawls, labyrinths, mandalas, novenas and more. I've attempted to write with sensitivity, depth and comprehension.